Supervalu 1st-quarter profit up, grocery sales off

CHICAGO, July 22 (Reuters) - Supervalu Inc (SVU.N), the third-largest U.S. supermarket chain, on Tuesday reported higher quarterly profit compared with a year earlier, though grocery sales fell.

The company, whose chains include Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's and Save-A-Lot, said profit was $162 million, or 76 cents a share, in the first quarter ended June 14, compared with $148 million, or 69 cents a share, a year earlier.

Acquisition-related costs were 3 cents a share in the quarter, compared with 8 cents a share a year earlier. (Reporting by Brad Dorfman, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)