Metro reports third quarter results for 2024
Metro Inc. announced its results for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 ended July 6, 2024.
According to the Canadian food retailer, with operations in Quebec and Ontario, sales in the third quarter of 2024 ended were $6,651.8 million, up 3.5% versus the third quarter of the prior year, driven by higher sales in Metro’s retail network.
Food same-store sales were up 2.4% in the third quarter of 2024 (9.4% in the third quarter of 2023). Pharmacy same-store sales were up 5.2% (5.9% in the third quarter of 2023), with a 6.3% increase in prescription drugs and a 3% increase in front-store sales, primarily driven by over-the-counter products, cosmetics and health and beauty.
"We recorded solid comparable sales growth in the third quarter, on top of a very strong quarter last year, reflecting effective merchandising and good execution in our food and pharmacy banners. Our new automated fresh and frozen facility in Terrebonne is now fully operational with productivity levels ramping up in line with our plans, and the transfer to the last phase of our automated fresh facility in Toronto has begun. While food inflation continues to decline, we know the environment remains difficult for many of our customers, and our teams are focused on offering them the best value possible", said Eric La Flèche, president and chief executive officer with Metro.
READ: Metro reports Q2 results, launches Moi Rewards in Ontario
In a statement released with the fiscal report, Metro adds that: “With the transition to our new state-of-the-art automated distribution centre in Terrebonne, and the recent launch of the final phase of our automated fresh distribution centre in Toronto, we are facing significant headwinds in Fiscal 2024 as we incur some temporary duplication of costs and learning curve inefficiencies, as well as higher depreciation and lower capitalized interest. While these investments position us well for continued long-term profitable growth, we will not fully absorb these additional expenses in the current fiscal year and are forecasting operating income before depreciation and amortization and impairments of assets to grow by less than 2% and adjusted net earnings per share to be flat to down $0.10 in Fiscal 2024 versus the level reported in Fiscal 2023. Our results, after three quarters, are tracking well to this guidance. We expect to resume our profit growth post Fiscal 2024 and are maintaining our publicly disclosed annual growth target of between 8% and 10% for net earnings per share over the medium and long term.”
