Canadian convenience retailer Couche-Tard has hailed a strong same-store sales performance for its increase in second-quarter profits.
In the period ending 9 October, net earnings rose 4.9% to US$113.5m and total revenues jumped by nearly a quarter from $4.1bn to $5.15bn. Operating income fell slightly from $149.7m in the same period in 2010 to $147.8m.
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The growth of merchandise and service revenues for the quarter rose 4.6% to $1.5bn, despite a net loss of 50 stores. Same-store merchandise revenues increased by 2.5% in the US and 3.3% in Canada, which the company said is down to merchandising strategies, economic conditions and investments in service and promotions.
Alain Bouchard, president and CEO of Couche-Tard, said: “Consumers continue to be very price-sensitive, forcing us to maintain promotions on certain products to protect traffic, which we successfully have done since the beginning of the year.”
“Of course, this puts pressure on our margin percentage. But our teams have shown skill and the growth of same-store merchandise sales more than compensated for the decrease in our margin percentage.”
He added that Couche-Tard is currently looking at “many interesting” acquisition opportunities.
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By GlobalDataThe half-year results show the company increased net earnings from $235m in the same six month period last year to $253m. Operating income jumped 2.2% to $330m, while total revenues grew 24.1% to $10.3bn.
The company’s share-price dipped 1.49% to $29.69 at close of trading.
