Metro Inc. reports its profits declined by 14.5 per cent for the second quarter and sales increased by only 2.2 per cent, which is less than food inflation tracked by Statistics Canada and less than Metro’s own measure of three per cent.
The company took a $20.8 million charge for its decision to drop Air Miles and rely on its own MOI loyalty program. Without that charge, the decline in profits was 8.4 per cent.
Another bite into profits was investment in an automated facility for fresh food in Toronto and an automated distribution center for fresh and frozen products at Terrebonne, Que.
