Jean Coutu labor dispute impacts bottom-line results
Robust food sales, fueled in part by surging online grocery traffic, lifted overall sales results at Metro Inc. for the fiscal 2021 first quarter, though a now-settled labor issue at its Jean Coutu subsidiary pulled per-share earnings below industry analysts’ forecast.
For the quarter ended Dec. 19, sales totaled $4.28 billion (Canadian), up 6.2% from $4.03 billion a year earlier, Montreal-based Metro said. Food comparable-store sales climbed 10% year over year, compared with a 1.4% in the fiscal 2020 first quarter. Food basket inflation was 2.5%, up from 2% a year ago.
“We are pleased with our first-quarter results, delivering continued double-digit food sales growth with good operating leverage while working through an eight-week labor conflict at our Jean Coutu distribution center,” Metro President and CEO Eric La Flèche (left) told analysts in a conference call.