Metro Inc. sales grow in first full quarter with Jean Coutu

Metro Inc. saw sales grow more than 15 per cent in its first full quarter since acquiring the Jean Coutu Group pharmacy chain. “The Jean Coutu integration plan is on track,” CEO Eric La Fleche said Wednesday during a conference call with analysts. The grocery retailer acquired the pharmacy operator in May 2018 for about $4.5 billion.

The acquisition helped boost Metro’s sales by 15.7 per cent to $3.74 billion for its fourth quarter, a 12week period ending Sept. 29, compared to the same quarter the previous year, which lasted 13 weeks. Sales rose 2.5 per cent excluding Jean Coutu and the extra week. Food same-store sales, a key retail metric, increased 2.1 per cent, while pharmacy same-store sales advanced 1.8 per cent.

Jean Coutu pharmacies have started to carry some of Metro’s private-label Selection and Irresistibles products, La Fleche said. Metro grocery stores soon will stock some of Jean Coutu’s private label personalcare and beauty line. “I think we have some time ahead of us to realize the full potential of this combination,” La Fleche said.

The company also is doing some tests with offering fresh food at Jean Coutu. The company earned $145 million in the quarter, amounting to 56 cents per diluted share. That’s compared with a profit of $154.9 million or 66 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year. For the full year, the company’s net earnings surged to $1.72 billion on $14.4 billion in revenues, up from $608.4 million on $13.2 million in revenues in 2017.