Grocery and drugstore retailer Loblaw Cos. Ltd. raised its quarterly dividend by 15 per cent as it reported its first-quarter profit and revenue rose compared with a year ago.
The parent company of Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Mart says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 51.3 cents per share, up from 44.6 cents per share.
The increased payment to shareholders came as Loblaw says it earned a profit available to common shareholders of $459 million or $1.47 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 23. The result was up 9.8 per cent from $418 million or $1.29 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
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Revenue for the quarter totalled $13.58 billion, up from $13.00 billion a year earlier.
Food retail same-stores sales rose by 3.4 per cent, while drug retail same-store sales increased by 4.0 per cent, with front store same-store sales up 0.7 per cent and pharmacy and health-care services same-store sales up 7.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Loblaw says it earned $1.72 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $1.55 per diluted share a year earlier.
Wednesday marks the beginning of an online campaign to boycott Loblaw’s businesses for the month of May, an expression of frustration with Canada’s largest grocer and the rising price of food.
– with files from Global News
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