Canada’s Loblaw Cos Ltd on Wednesday beat analyst estimates for quarterly profit, driven by robust sales at its namesake and Shoppers Drug Mart stores, but the retailer said demand has moderated after coronavirus-led lockdown prompted consumers to stockpile essentials.
READ MORE: Canada’s meat-and-potato problem: Coronavirus pandemic hits the food supply chain
Loblaw, which sells everything from beauty products to mobile connections, has eliminated pickup fees and lowered delivery fee as it looks to keep its grocery and drugs sales up at a time when consumers avoid venturing out amid the coronavirus crisis.
The Brampton-based company said the spike in demand seen in the last two weeks of March has since moderated. It faces pressure on sales in pharmacy and some discretionary areas of the business even as essential food categories remain strong.
Loblaw’s revenue rose about 11 per cent to $11.80 billion in the first quarter ended March 21.
READ MORE: Foodora Canada closing amid ‘highly saturated market’ and ‘intensified competition’
Excluding one-time items, the company earned 97 Canadian cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 94 Canadian cents per share.
Same-store sales in Loblaw’s food unit grew 9.6 per cent and that in the drugs unit rose 10.7 per cent, driven by higher traffic and increase in the number of prescriptions dispensed.
Earlier this month, Loblaw, in which Canadian retail group George Weston holds a controlling interest, withdrew its outlook for 2020 while it had earlier called for positive same-store sales and adjusted profit growth.