By Judy McKinnon
Canadian grocer Loblaw Cos. said Thursday its fourth-quarter
profit more than doubled and revenue climbed nearly 50%, outpacing
analyst expectations as it continued to benefit from its
acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart Corp.
Toronto-based Loblaw, which completed its purchase of the
drugstore chain in the second quarter, said fourth-quarter earnings
jumped to 247 million Canadian dollars ($199 million), or 59
Canadian cents a share, from C$114 million, or 40 Canadian cents a
year earlier.
Adjusted to exclude items, earnings rose to 96 Canadian cents a
share from 57 Canadian cents. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters
were expecting 89 Canadian cents.
Revenue of C$11.41 billion was up 49% from a year earlier and
ahead of the C$11.30 billion analysts expected. Excluding Shoppers
Drug Mart, revenue was up 9.4%, the company said.
Loblaw said same-store sales, which exclude Shoppers, were up
2.4% in the latest quarter. For its core grocery segment,
same-store sales rose 3.3%.
The company said it is targeting earning growth in 2015, but
expects some headwinds.
"While the competitive intensity in grocery remains high, and
the regulatory environment in health care remains challenging, we
believe we are well-positioned to achieve stable earnings growth,"
Galen G. Weston, president and executive chairman, said.
During the quarter, Loblaw said it realized about C$49 million
of net synergies related to its acquisition of Shoppers and is
targeting synergies of nearly C$200 million in 2015.
Loblaw, which closed its C$12.4 billion takeover of Shoppers at
the end of March to create a grocery and pharmacy giant, said it is
targeting 2015 capital spending of about C$1.2 billion.
Write to Judy McKinnon at judy.mckinnon@wsj.com
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