2021 SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
- Sales of
$4,193.0 million , up 5.1% - Food same-store sales up 5.5%, and up 10.1% for the first 10 weeks of the quarter
- Pharmacy same-store sales down 0.8%
- Net earnings of
$188.1 million , up 6.8% and adjusted net earnings(1) of$194.7 million , up 6.5% - Fully diluted net earnings per share of
$0.75 , up 8.7%, and adjusted fully diluted net earnings per share(1) of$0.78 , up 8.3% - Expenses related to COVID-19 totalling
$29 million , including$8 million of gift cards to front-line employees
12 weeks / Fiscal Year | |||||
(Millions of dollars, except for net earnings per share) | 2021 | % | 2020 | % | Change (%) |
Sales | 4,193.0 | 100.0 | 3,988.9 | 100.0 | 5.1 |
Operating income before depreciation and amortization | 396.1 | 9.4 | 374.1 | 9.4 | 5.9 |
Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization(2) | 396.1 | 9.4 | 374.1 | 9.4 | 5.9 |
Net earnings | 188.1 | 4.5 | 176.2 | 4.4 | 6.8 |
Fully diluted net earnings per share | 0.75 | — | 0.69 | — | 8.7 |
Adjusted net earnings(1) | 194.7 | 4.6 | 182.8 | 4.6 | 6.5 |
Adjusted fully diluted net earnings per share(1) | 0.78 | — | 0.72 | — | 8.3 |
24 weeks / Fiscal Year | |||||
(Millions of dollars, except for net earnings per share) | 2021 | % | 2020 | % | Change (%) |
Sales | 8,471.2 | 100.0 | 8,018.7 | 100.0 | 5.6 |
Operating income before depreciation and amortization | 795.3 | 9.4 | 737.2 | 9.2 | 7.9 |
Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization(2) | 795.3 | 9.4 | 744.7 | 9.3 | 6.8 |
Net earnings | 379.3 | 4.5 | 346.4 | 4.3 | 9.5 |
Fully diluted net earnings per share | 1.51 | — | 1.36 | — | 11.0 |
Adjusted net earnings(1) | 392.4 | 4.6 | 363.7 | 4.5 | 7.9 |
Adjusted fully diluted net earnings per share(1) | 1.57 | — | 1.43 | — | 9.8 |
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
"We delivered strong sales and earnings growth in our second quarter. More than one year into the pandemic crisis, our teams continue to show extraordinary resilience to safely serve our communities while executing well on our strategic priorities of operational excellence, supply chain modernization and digital acceleration. Our affiliated pharmacists have begun to administer vaccines and we look forward to increasing the pace as soon as more vaccine supply becomes available in the coming weeks. As we are currently cycling the peak sales of the start of the pandemic last year, we are confident that our sales volume will remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels and we are well positioned to continue to deliver value to our customers and shareholders", declared
OPERATING RESULTS
SALES
Sales in the second quarter of Fiscal 2021 reached
Sales in the first 24 weeks of Fiscal 2021 totalled
OPERATING INCOME BEFORE DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION
This earnings measurement excludes financial costs, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Operating income before depreciation and amortization for the second quarter of Fiscal 2021 totalled
Operating income before depreciation and amortization for the first 24 weeks of Fiscal 2021 totalled
Operating income before depreciation and amortization adjustments (OI)(2)
24 weeks / Fiscal Year | |||||||
2021 | 2020 | ||||||
(Millions of dollars, unless otherwise indicated) | OI | Sales | (%) | OI | Sales | (%) | |
Operating income before depreciation and amortization | 795.3 | 8,471.2 | 9.4 | 737.2 | 8,018.7 | 9.2 | |
Loss on disposal of a subsidiary | — | 7.5 | |||||
Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization(2) | 795.3 | 8,471.2 | 9.4 | 744.7 | 8,018.7 | 9.3 |
Gross margin on sales for the second quarter and the first 24 weeks of Fiscal 2021 were 20.2% and 19.9% respectively, versus 19.7% for the corresponding periods of 2020.
Operating expenses as a percentage of sales for the second quarter of Fiscal 2021 were 10.7% versus 10.3% for the corresponding quarter of 2020. The last two weeks of the second quarter of 2020 experienced a surge in sales due to the pandemic with no incremental COVID-19 related expenses. The costs related to COVID-19 for the second quarter of Fiscal 2021 were approximately
For the first 24 weeks of Fiscal 2021, operating expenses as a percentage of sales were 10.5% versus 10.5% (10.4% excluding the loss on disposal of our subsidiary MissFresh) for the corresponding period of 2020. The costs related to COVID-19 for the first 24 weeks of Fiscal 2021 were approximately
DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION AND NET FINANCIAL COSTS
Total depreciation and amortization expense for the second quarter of Fiscal 2021 was
Net financial costs for the second quarter of Fiscal 2021 were
INCOME TAXES
The income tax expense of
NET EARNINGS AND ADJUSTED NET EARNINGS(1)
Net earnings for the second quarter of Fiscal 2021 were
Net earnings for the first 24 weeks of Fiscal 2021 were
Net earnings adjustments(1)
12 weeks / Fiscal Year | ||||||||
2021 | 2020 | Change (%) | ||||||
(Millions of | Fully diluted | (Millions of | Fully diluted (Dollars) | Net | Fully | |||
Net earnings | 188.1 | 0.75 | 176.2 | 0.69 | 6.8 | 8.7 | ||
Amortization of intangible assets acquired in | 6.6 | 6.6 | ||||||
Adjusted net earnings(1) | 194.7 | 0.78 | 182.8 | 0.72 | 6.5 | 8.3 |
24 weeks / Fiscal Year | ||||||||
2021 | 2020 | Change (%) | ||||||
(Millions of | Fully diluted | (Millions of | Fully diluted (Dollars) | Net | Fully | |||
Net earnings | 379.3 | 1.51 | 346.4 | 1.36 | 9.5 | 11.0 | ||
Loss on disposal of a subsidiary, after taxes | — | 4.2 | ||||||
Amortization of intangible assets acquired | 13.1 | 13.1 | ||||||
Adjusted net earnings(1) | 392.4 | 1.57 | 363.7 | 1.43 | 7.9 | 9.8 |
NORMAL COURSE ISSUER BID PROGRAM
Under the current normal course issuer bid program, the Corporation may repurchase up to 7,000,000 of its Common Shares between
DIVIDENDS
On
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
We have used, throughout this report, different statements that could, within the context of regulations issued by the Canadian Securities Administrators, be construed as being forward-looking information. In general, any statement contained herein that does not constitute a historical fact may be deemed a forward-looking statement. Expression such as "expect" and other similar expressions are generally indicative of forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based upon certain assumptions regarding the Canadian food industry, the general economy, our annual budget, as well as our 2021 action plan.
These forward-looking statements do not provide any guarantees as to the future performance of the Corporation and are subject to potential risks, known and unknown, as well as uncertainties that could cause the outcome to differ significantly. The arrival of a new competitor is an example of the risks described under the "Risk Management" section of the 2020 Annual Report which could have an impact on these statements. As with the preceding risks, the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a risk that could have an impact on the business, operations, projects and performance of the Corporation as well as on the forward-looking statements contained in this document.
We believe these statements to be reasonable and pertinent as at the date of publication of this report and represent our expectations. The Corporation does not intend to update any forward-looking statement contained herein, except as required by applicable law.
NON-IFRS MEASUREMENTS
In addition to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) earnings measurements provided, we have included certain non-IFRS earnings measurements. These measurements are presented for information purposes only. They do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measurements presented by other public companies.
ADJUSTED OPERATING INCOME BEFORE DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION, ADJUSTED NET EARNINGS AND ADJUSTED FULLY DILUTED NET EARNINGS PER SHARE
Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization, adjusted net earnings and adjusted fully diluted net earnings per share are earnings measurements that exclude some items that must be recognized under IFRS. They are non-IFRS measurements. We believe that presenting earnings without these items, which are not necessarily reflective of the Corporation's performance, leaves readers of financial statements better informed as to the current period and corresponding prior year's period's operating earnings, thus enabling them to better perform trend analysis, evaluate the Corporation's financial performance and judge its future outlook. The exclusion of these items does not imply that they are non-recurring.
OUTLOOK(3)
We continue to rigorously apply the government measures put in place to reduce the effects of the pandemic and remain agile as they evolve. We are working with government authorities to speed up vaccination efforts through our network of pharmacies and we expect our front-end sales, in the short-term, to compare favourably to last year, given the serious restrictions that were in place at that time. We also expect continued growth from prescription drugs. On the food side, given the extraordinary sales achieved last year at the start of the pandemic, we expect the year over year food sales, in the short-term, to decline. However, in absolute terms, we expect food sales to remain strong, and to compare favourably to pre-pandemic levels.
CONFERENCE CALL
Financial analysts and institutional investors are invited to participate in a conference call for the 2021 second quarter results at
Notice to readers: METRO INC. second quarter of 2021 interim condensed consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis are available on the Internet at www.metro.ca - Corporate Site - Investor Relations - 2021 Quarterly Results - 2021 Second Quarter Results.
(1) See table on "Net earnings adjustments" and section on "Non-IFRS Measurements"
(2) See table on "Operating income before depreciation and amortization adjustments" and section on "Non-IFRS Measurements"
(3) See section on "Forward-looking Information"
SOURCE
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