By Adriano Marchese

Canadian food retailer Loblaw Cos. said Wednesday that profit more than doubled in the second quarter, benefiting from a 4.5% growth in revenue.

Loblaw said earnings per share were 1.09 Canadian dollars (86 U.S. cents), up from C$0.47 a year earlier.

Net earnings attributable to common shareholders of the company was C$375 million, compared with C$169 million, it said.

Adjusted earnings were C$1.35 a share, beating analyst estimates of C$1.21, taken from FactSet. The company said that food retail same-stores sales declined by 0.1%, while drug retail same-store sales increased by 9.6%.

Sales rose to C$12.49 billion from C$11.96 billion, the company said.

Looking ahead, Loblaw said that it anticipates grocery sales will remain elevated due to continued effects of the pandemic, such as those from lockdown measures in many jurisdictions.

In particular, the company said it now expects mid-20s percentage growth in its adjusted diluted net earnings per share for the second half of the year.

However, Loblaw said revenue growth will be challenged, while lapping elevated sales in 2020 as economies reopen.

The company said costs are expected to improve, while process and efficiencies as well as its data-driven insights program continue to deliver benefits.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-28-21 0715ET