In his quarterly letter to shareholders, Metro President and CEO Eric La Fleche chose to focus on the dollar signs rather than the 3,700 Metro workers still on strike.
At the end of the letter, La Fleche said he was disappointed about the labor dispute and looked forward to a resolution. However, there was plenty of good news on the business front. Metro sales in the third quarter were up 9.6% year-over-year at over $6.43 billion. Same-store sales increased 9.4% vs. 2022, and online sales rose 99%.
Pharmacy same-store sales also increased 5.9% vs. Q3 2022. Third quarter net earnings jumped 26% at $346.7 million compared to $275 million in Q3 2022. Adjusted net earnings came in at $314.8 million, more than $30 million at this time last year.
According to Metro, a tax benefit that came after the Canada Revenue Agency granted capital losses to the company ended up helping with third quarter profit. The benefit was previously not allowed.
“With persistent food inflation, our teams did an excellent job to offer good value to our customers, resulting in market share gains and tonnage growth, driven by our discount food stores,” said La Fleche in the shareholder letter. “Our loyalty program Moi was successfully launched this quarter and we are pleased with the strong customer response so far.”
One of the main reasons Metro workers are on strike impacting stores in the Toronto area is because they want to share the financial success of the company. Over the last decade, Unifor Local 414 said wages for full-time store clerks raised 15.4% from $17.80 an hour to $20.55 an hour, reports the Toronto Star. The Consumer Price Index, on the other hand, has risen over 24% during that same time frame.
The average wage for a part time worker at Metro is $16.62 an hour, and more than 2,500 union members make less than $20 an hour.
