Loblaw Companies (L.TO) announced a profit for its first quarter that increased from the same period last year and beat the Street estimates.
The company's earnings totaled C$503 million, or C$1.66 per share. This compares with C$459 million, or C$1.47 per share, last year.
Excluding items, Loblaw Companies reported adjusted earnings of C$570 million or C$1.88 per share for the period.
Analysts on average had expected the company to earn C$1.86 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The company's revenue for the period rose 4.1% to C$14.135 billion from C$13.581 billion last year.
Loblaw Companies earnings at a glance (GAAP) :
-Earnings: C$503 Mln. vs. C$459 Mln. last year.
-EPS: C$1.66 vs. C$1.47 last year.
-Revenue: C$14.135 Bln vs. C$13.581 Bln last year.
Subsequent to the end of the first quarter, the Board declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.5643 per share, higher than the prior dividend of C$0.513 per share. This dividend will be paid on July 1, to shareholders of record as of June 15.
Looking ahead, for the full year, the company has reaffirmed its profit outlook. Loblaw still expects its adjusted earnings per share growth to be in the high single-digits.
Loblaw Companies aims to continue investing in its store network and distribution centers by investing a net amount of C$1.9 billion in capital expenditures, which reflects gross capital investments of around C$2.2 billion, net of approximately C$300 million of proceeds from property disposals.
The company also intends to return capital to shareholders by allocating a significant portion of free cash flow to share repurchases.
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