Shopping might be

a pleasure at Publix, but first-quarter profits aren’t quite so pleasurable for the chain.

Publix rang up a rough first quarter, as sales and profits fell at the region’s dominant grocery store chain.

Publix Super Markets’ revenues fell 0.4 percent compared with the same period a year ago, as leaders blamed the drop on changes to the calendar, particularly the fact that Easter came after the first quarter ended this year. The company estimated that alone resulted in a 1.2 percent decline. Easter was April 16 this year and March 27 in 2016.

By some standards, it’s the weakest quarter Publix has faced since the Great Recession. It was the first time since 2009 the company has seen a year-to-year drop in both overall sales and same-store sales in the same quarter.

Sales totaled $8.69 billion in the quarter at the chain’s 1,147 stores. After the report on Monday, Publix — which is privately traded — said its stock price dropped to $39.15 a share, 13 percent lower than it was a year ago. Publix stock had been $40.90 per share before Monday and fell 4.2 percent with the announcement.

Publix is facing pressure from discount grocers, who are expanding and taking market share locally. Supermarket sales tracker Shelby Report showed Publix has lost market share to Wal-Mart and Aldi in the region from Orlando to Tampa.

Publix still has more stores than other retailers though, with 396 in that region, more than twice as many as Wal-Mart or Winn-Dixie. But Wal-Mart and Aldi are adding stores and gaining sales.

“Part of what is happening is that there is lots of new competition,” said Steve Kirn, who teaches retail courses at the University of Florida.

Publix is also facing decreasing grocery costs across the board. The federal government’s price tracking service shows that grocery costs have dropped 1.5 percent in the past year, led by lower costs for meat, eggs and vegetables.

Kirn said those are the key products for grocers, such as Publix, who don’t want to compete with discount chains on price for non-perishable goods.

Publix’s profits fell 4.6 percent compared with $555.3 million in the first quarter. Comparable-store sales, the company reported, were down 2.1 percent for the quarter over the same period in 2016.

Still, sales growth is slower than it was during the same period of 2016. In the first quarter of 2016, Publix boosted sales 3.3 percent over the same period in 2015.