(Montreal) Inflation prevents Metro from posting all the discounts it would like in its flyers, admits Eric La Flèche, its president and CEO. The manager also announced that the Jean Coutu Group subsidiary will announce “this week” that it is launching an in-store delivery service.
“Lately it has been difficult to promote the cups [de viande] that we would have liked to announce because the prices would have been too high for everyone, ”says La Flèche, during a conference call to discuss third quarter results.
Rising food prices occupied much of the questioning of financial analysts participating in the call. “We believe we have the ability to pass these costs on to consumers over the long term, but we go to great lengths to contain these costs and remain competitive. ”
Inflation could also be good news for grocers, believes La Flèche. Over the summer, more Canadians ate outside their homes. As the cost of living increases, consumers could reduce their outings and eat more at home, he argues.
Online business
The Jean Coutu Group division will launch “this week” an in-store pick-up service in 250 of its pharmacies in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick, said Mr. La Flèche.
Customers will be able to order more than 20,000 items online, including over-the-counter medications, and pick them up in stores the same day. Jean Coutu already offers home prescription delivery service.
The new service will not bring significant costs for Metro, the parent company, or for franchisees, assures the manager. “It will be up to the franchisees’ staff to provide the service, but it’s part of their operation and we don’t anticipate any significant impacts. ”
Metro also opened in Montreal, this summer, a grocery store entirely dedicated to online commerce. Mr. La Flèche acknowledged that the launch was complicated by the labor shortage. “Hiring was a challenge last summer. The labor market is an issue for our activities in Quebec. ”
However, he assures us that he is satisfied with the progress of the project. Its launch coincided with declining demand for e-commerce due to the easing of sanitary measures, he said. “The time was right to start operations. ”
Results
In the fourth quarter, Metro sales were held back by the relaxation of sanitary measures which prompted consumers to eat more outside of their homes.
For the three-month period ended September 25, revenue edged down 1.2% to $ 4.09 billion. Income is still 6% higher than the comparable period in 2019 (before the pandemic).
In light of the results, Michael Van Aelst, of TD Securities, judges that Metro has failed to maintain its market share gains, although the traditional grocery segment continues to do well, he wrote in a note. .
The Quebec food giant unveiled adjusted earnings per share of $ 0.81 compared to $ 0.77 for the same period last year.
Prior to the earnings release, analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected earnings per share of $ 0.80 and revenue of $ 4.23 billion.
The company reported on Wednesday that its net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021 was $ 194 million compared to $ 186.5 million in the corresponding quarter of 2020.
Compared to the last quarter of 2020, comparable food store sales were down 2.9% in the fourth quarter of this year. However, comparable drugstore sales were up 4.1% over the same period.
The Board of Directors declared, on September 27, a quarterly dividend of $ 0.25 per share, the same amount declared in the last quarter.
Metro stock was down $ 1.60, or 2.42%, to $ 64.62, when the Toronto Stock Exchange closed.