In a conference call with bond holders and analysts, Stater Bros. Holdings reported that its sales for the fiscal year ended Sept. 27 reached a record $3.77 billion, though that figure was up just 0.7 percent from 2008. Net income dropped 14 percent from last year, going from $40.6 million to $34.8 million.

Sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 were $947.2 million, just above the $940.2 million for the same period of 2008. Earnings totaled $5 million, down from $7.2 million in last year’s fourth quarter.

Stater Chairman Jack Brown said the grocer was forced to expand discounts on hundreds of grocery items, to retain shoppers amid price-chopping campaigns initiated by the national-chain supermarkets serving Southern California – the parent companies of Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons.

Brown said the company not only maintained customer loyalty but grew its base, going from 1.25 million customer visits in 2008 to 1.29 million in 2009. “That’s about 70,000 more customers per week,” he said.

He said the increase came in spite of the fact that about 100 of Stater’s 167 stores are in the Inland area, among the U.S. regions hit hardest by home foreclosures and unemployment.

Its rivals have reported similar challenges in Southern California. Earlier this month, Kroger Co., the nation’s largest supermarket chain, said the tough Southland climate played a big role in its loss of $875 million in its latest quarter, as well as a $1.05 billion writedown in assets on its 263-store Ralphs chain.

“Survival is a victory too,” Brown said in the conference call. “We didn’t have to write down anything, so we’re in pretty good shape.”