Revenues increased by 1.5 per cent to $16.5 billion.
The best results were for its discount stores.
It opened 25 new No Frills stores in the quarter. It is also testing three new No Name stores that pare down prices further by lowering operating costs. the stores carry a narrower assortment of products and do not have refrigerators.
A previous charge related to a commodity tax matter at President’s Choice Bank was reversed during the quarter, after Loblaw won a legal appeal. That change positively affected the company’s net earnings by $125-million, offset by the amortization of assets related to Shoppers Drug Mart and the Lifemark chain of clinics.
Including those and other adjustments in the same quarter the previous year, adjusted net earnings available to common shareholders were $767-million compared to $719-million last year.
