Shares of natural and organic grocer Whole Foods Market, Inc. (Nasdaq: WFMI) touched a new 52-week high of $47.37 on Thursday after the company reported strong fourth quarter numbers, driven by strong sales momentum.

Net income for the fourth quarter ended September 26 more than doubled to $57.5 million, or 33 cents per share, compared to net income of $28.7 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier. Fourth quarter revenue increased 15 percent to $2.1 billion. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 28 cents per share on revenue of $2.07 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
[–quote–]
Whole Foods’ sales have been increasing for several quarters, and although the company had expected sales to moderate in Q4 due to a seasonal slow-down and tough comparison to the prior year when sales were starting to improve, revenue at stores open at least a year rose 8.7 percent in the quarter, above the 6.5 to 7.5 percent growth Whole Foods expected. The Austin-based company attributed its sales growth to more competitive pricing and efforts during the quarter to appeal to its core customers’ concerns about healthy eating, animal welfare and sustainable seafood.

Whole Foods also strengthened its balance sheet in Q4, ending the quarter with free cash flow of $67 million. The company was forced to retool as the recession took hold, and halted its dividend, cut costs, closed some stores and offered more lower-priced options. Whole Foods also slowed its new store openings during that time but said it plans to open a number of new stores in the coming year, including an announcement Wednesday that it has plans to open several in the United Kingdom.

“From a financial perspective, we are well-positioned to reaccelerate our new store growth,” said Whole Foods’ Co-CEO John Mackey in an earnings call. “Our strong top- and bottom-line performance, along with our renewed capital expense discipline, have resulted in consistent cash flow, lower debt and a very healthy balance sheet.”