Publix reported

its best quarter ever, as it sold $9.3 billion worth of groceries and other goods from January to March and boosted sales by 6.8 percent.

Publix on Tuesday reported its best quarter ever as it sold $9.3 billion worth of groceries and other goods from January to March and boosted sales by 6.8 percent.

The Lakeland-based supermarket chain netted $680.3 million in profits, a 22.5 percent increase over the year before. Publix, an employee-owned company, also boosted its stock price by 35 cents a share to $41.75.

“I’m proud of our team’s results and pleased with our stock price increase considering the volatility in the stock market,” said a statement from Publix CEO and president Todd Jones.

Publix’s stock price has now increased for three consecutive quarters, even though it is still 7.6 percent less than the high of $45.20 it reached in March 2016.

The sales record bested a previous high of $9.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Publix stock is privately traded and not sold on the stock market. It’s only available to Publix employees and directors and is traded through the company. Publix sets its stock price on advice from auditors who measure the results and compare it to the performance of other chains in the industry.

The company said sales were boosted slightly by the Easter holiday shopping week fell in March, with Easter day coming on April 1. The created a 1.2 percent increase in revenue, the company said.

As previously reported, Publix also said the December 2017 federal tax law change also had a positive impact on net income. Publix reported March the tax law saved it $224 million in 2017. Earnings per share were 73 cents. To compare, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 2.5 percent since March 1. Stock prices are also lower for competitors Krogers (-9.6 percent), Walmart (-2.5 percent) and Target (-3.7 percent) since the beginning of March.

Publix has been busy in recent months, expanding into Virginia and revamping stores. The remodels included a 45,600-square-foot store the chain reopened at 5350 Central Florida Parkway on April 14.

Publix now has 1,182 stores and more than 190,000 employees. Publix has added 37 new stores in the last year.

The expansion has come even as competitors such as Earth Fare and Lucky’s Market continue to build more stores in Central Florida.