Loblaw Cos. Ltd. said this week its Q3 profits rose by 29 percent to $556 million, but was eager to stress that the growth was driven by pharmacy sales and not food inflation. Profit margins in food retail, the company said in a release, had not increased from a year ago. Revenues rose 6.9 percent to $17.4 billion.
Meanwhile, rival Metro Inc. reported Q4 sales of $4.43 billion, up from $4.09 billion a year ago. Revenues however fell to $168.7 million from $194 million as the company absorbed $60 million in costs related to the exit of its Jean Coutu pharmacies from the Air Miles program, which will occur next year.
