Grocery and drugstore retailer Metro reports $219.9M fourth-quarter profit
Metro Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit of $219.9 million, down from $222.2 million a year earlier when its fourth-quarter included one more week.
The company behind Metro grocery stores and Jean Coutu drugstores said the profit amounted to 98 cents per diluted share for the quarter with a profit of 96 cents per share a year earlier when it had more shares outstanding.
Sales or the 12-week period ended Sept. 28 totalled $4.94 billion compared with $5.07 billion for the 13-week period ended Sept. 30, 2023.
Food same-store sales for the quarter were up 2.2%, while online food sales gained 27.6% versus the comparable 12-week period last year.
Pharmacy same-store sales rose 5.7% helped by a 6.8% increase in prescription drugs and a 3.3% rise in front-store sales, primarily driven by over-the-counter products, cosmetics and health and beauty.
READ: Metro reports Q2 results, launches Moi Rewards in Ontario
On an adjusted basis, Metro said it earned $1.02 per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 99 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
"Our 2024 fiscal year ended with a solid fourth quarter driven by strong comparable sales growth in both food and pharmacy on top of a very strong quarter last year,” said Eric La Flèche, president and chief executive officer with Metro in a statement upon the release of the fiscal results. “Our results for this transition year met our expectations and have landed well within the guidance provided last year. With the transfer to the last phase of our automated fresh facility in Toronto now complete, we have reached the final milestone of our 7-year, nearly billion-dollar investment in the modernization of our supply chain, providing capacity for future growth and efficiency. Finally, our Moi Rewards program was successfully launched in Ontario at the end of October, and we are very pleased with the customer response to date with more than 1,000,000 new members in just under four weeks.”
The company further added in a statement that: “As we begin our 2025 fiscal year, the significant investments in the modernization of our supply chain are largely behind us, and we are now focused 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.”
With additional files from Metro Inc.
