TORONTO — Indigo Books and Music Inc. says its net profit grew nearly 19 per cent in its latest quarter despite facing the impact from forced store closures during a key part of the year.

The Toronto-based retailer reported a third-quarter profit of $30.7 million for the three months ended Dec. 26, up from a profit of $25.8 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

Indigo says its profit for the quarter amounted to $1.09 per diluted share, up from a profit of 94 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $365.4 million, down five per cent from $383.7 million.

Indigo says revenue growth in the first seven weeks of the quarter provided some cushion but not enough to fully compensate for government-mandated closures in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The company says e-commerce revenue grew 92 per cent as it enhanced omnichannel capabilities, including click-and-collect, curbside pickup and Instacart that blunted some of the effects of mandated reclosures.

"These results are a testament to the demonstrated resilience of our teams and a deep affinity for our brand, achieved against massive disruption from mandated shutdowns and store limitations during the most important six weeks of our year," stated CEO Heather Reisman.

"These shutdowns created a particularly uneven playing field in Ontario with 'essential' retailers selling all non-essential items, a practice disallowed by other provinces."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:IDG)

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