Despite a fourth-quarter slip, US grocer Kroger perfomed well in 2013 and can now focus on growth.

Kroger is a model of consistency and the envy of other less fortunate retailers

A fourth-quarter slip didn’t dampen Kroger’s full-year performance for its 2013 financial year.

The US grocer turned in another year of rock-solid results. Furthermore, it is projecting annual like-for-like increases in the 2.5% to 3.5% range again for 2014.

Kroger is a model of consistency and the envy of other less fortunate retailers.

Kroger sales hit $98.38bn (£59.1bn) for the year ended February 1, which, when adjusted for the extra week in 2012, were up 3.9%.

If there’s one thing to fault Kroger on, it’s a levelling of net earnings. For the year, net earnings totalled $1.52bn (£910m), remaining essentially the same as last year. This translates to a net profit margin of 1.5%, down slightly from 1.6% in 2012.

There are five growth initiatives Kroger should focus on.

First, expansion. Kroger’s 2014 capex budget is in the $2.8bn (£1.68bn) to $3bn (£1.8bn) range, largely intended to fuel square footage increases in existing markets and enter at least one new area through organic expansion.

Second, Kroger should continue to expand an already impressive private-label programme. It added 937 new private-label grocery items last year and by the end of 2013, own brands accounted for 27.2% of grocery units sold.

Third, it should maintain momentum in fresh food and perishables, which delivered strong sales growth in 2013. Planet Retail expects Kroger to learn from recent acquisition Harris Teeter, a top-notch fresh operator.

Kroger has been working for the past year to push customised digital coupons to shoppers.

The February 2014 acquisition of You Tech, a digital coupons and promotions specialist, will enable Kroger to expand its digital business more quickly.

Finally, it should continue to invest in click-and-collect.

Harris Teeter’s Express Lane online grocery ordering scheme, otherwise known as click-and-collect, is one to watch. The likelihood is strong that it will be tested in other Kroger divisions.

Kroger expects identical supermarket sales, excluding fuel, to increase by between 2.5% and 3.5% in the coming year. Over the five-year horizon, Planet Retail forecasts a 4.8% annual sales growth rate for Kroger.

This will make Kroger a $125bn (£75.1bn) retailer in 2018 - when it will remain solidly positioned as the second biggest US retailer behind Walmart.