By Adriano Marchese 



  Loblaw Cos. Ltd. Thursday reported a 40% fall in second-quarter profit despite higher revenue in the period, and said that Covid-19 related expenses negatively affected earnings. 


  The Brampton, Ontario-based food retailer company earned a profit of 172 million Canadian dollars, or C$0.47 a share, compared with C$289 million, or C$0.77, for the same period last year. 


  Sales rose 7.4% to C$11.96 billion. 


  The company's food retail segment had same-store sales growth of 10% in the quarter, while front-store same-store sales grew 3.3%. 


  "As expected, profit declined year over year in the quarter as the strong growth in sales was insufficient to overcome substantial Covid-19 related costs in the quarter," Executive Chairman Galen Weston said. 


  Loblaw said that it has invested C$282 million in Covid-19 related costs and that it continued to incur costs exiting the second quarter. It said costs were at a lower rate in the third quarter, reflecting more stability in store and in distribution center operations. 


  Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com