(Montreal) Quebec food and pharmaceutical giant Metro reports net income of $207.7 million in the first quarter of 2022, up 8.6% from $191.2 million in the period. corresponding to the previous year.
Posted at 7:38
During the same period, adjusted net profit increased by 8.3% to 214.2 million. Diluted net earnings per share increased by $0.85 while adjusted diluted net earnings per share were $0.88.
Metro’s revenue was 4.317 billion in the first quarter of 2022 compared to 4.278 billion in the same period of 2021.
Metro said same-store grocery store sales were down 1.4% from the same quarter last year. As for the turnover of comparable pharmacies, it increased by 7.7%.
Metro President and CEO Eric La Flèche believes the company delivered a strong performance in its first quarter of 2022, marked by sustained revenue growth to the point of outperforming revenue last year’s record, and by good control of expenses. He points out that the industry is facing higher than normal inflationary pressures.
Metro expects its food business to remain relatively flat in the near term as restaurant closures and telecommuting persist.
As for the pharmaceutical division, Metro anticipates growth in turnover compared to last year with the launch of the distribution of rapid tests for the detection of COVID-19 in its network and due to less restrictive government measures. while the year 2021 had been adversely affected by a six-week ban on the sale of non-essential products in Quebec.