It’s been an excellent second quarter for Metro Inc., Canada’s third-largest grocer that owns supermarket chains Metro, Food Basics, and the Quebec-only Super C.
The company reported a 10.4% increase in profits, with pharmacy and food sales leading the boost.
Metro Inc. had net earnings of $218.8 million on sales of $4.55 billion. Last year during the second quarter, Metro earned $198.1 million on sales of $4.27 billion.
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The Montreal-based company saw a mere 5.8% increase in food sales, which they attribute to higher inflation rates. However, online food sales were up 41% compared to last year, which the company states was “driven by new partnership sales.”
The highest increase in sales was from the pharmacy division, which saw sales go up by 7.3% (9.4% in the second quarter of 2022).
Sales for prescription drugs were up by 5%, and front-store sales for items such as over-the-counter cosmetic and health products were up by 12.2%.
“We are pleased with our results in the second quarter as our teams continued to deliver value to our customers in the current high food inflation environment with competitive everyday prices, growing private label sales and effective promotional strategies,” said Eric La Flèche, Metro Inc.’s president and chief executive officer.
“We will continue to invest in our people, our retail network and the modernization of our supply chain, and we are well-positioned to achieve our long-term growth objectives.”
The country’s biggest grocer, Loblaw, is set to announce its first-quarter earnings for 2023 on May 3.
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