METRO INC., a food and pharmacy leader in Québec and Ontario, announced Tuesday its financial results for the first quarter of Fiscal 2025 ended December 21, 2024.
2025 FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
- Sales of $5,117.1 million, up 2.9%
- Food same-store sales up 1.0% and up 2.4% when adjusting for the Christmas week shift
- Pharmacy same-store sales up 5.1%
- Net earnings of $259.5 million, up 13.6% and adjusted net earnings(1) of $245.4 million, up 4.4%
- Fully diluted net earnings per share of $1.16, up 17.2% and adjusted fully diluted net earnings per share of $1.10, up 7.8%
- Declared dividend of $0.37 per share, up 10.4% versus last year
“We are pleased with our first quarter results which were driven by solid revenue growth and good expense control. Our commercial programs continue to resonate with customers, aided by the successful launch of our Moi Rewards program in Ontario this fall, leading to increased traffic and tonnage. Our teams are focused on delivering value in all our banners and leveraging our recent supply chain investments. We are confident in our ability to continue to create long term shareholder value”, said Eric La Flèche, President and Chief Executive Officer in a news release.
The company said sales were negatively impacted by the transfer of two significant pre-Christmas shopping days to the second quarter this year.
Food same-store sales were up 1.0% in the first quarter of Fiscal 2025 and up 2.4% when adjusting for the Christmas shift. Online food sales were up 18.6% versus last year. When adjusting for the sales tax holiday, its food basket inflation was slightly higher than the reported CPI for food purchased from stores. Pharmacy same-store sales were up 5.1% with a 7.3% increase in prescription drugs and a 0.5% increase in front-store sales. When adjusting for the Christmas shift, the increase in front-store sales was 1.9%, explained Metro.
It said net earnings for the first quarter of Fiscal 2025 were $259.5 million compared with $228.5 million for the corresponding quarter of 2024, while fully diluted net earnings per share were $1.16 compared with $0.99 in 2024, up 13.6% and 17.2% respectively.
“The significant investments in the modernization of our supply chain are largely behind us, and we are now focussed on realizing efficiency gains and improving the service to our store network. These investments have also positioned us well for growth through the expansion of our retail network in the years ahead. We expect to gradually resume our profit growth in Fiscal 2025 and we maintain our publicly disclosed annual growth target of between 8% and 10% of adjusted net earnings per share over the medium and long term,” said the company.
Relate Retail Insider stories:
