Canada's largest grocery store chain Loblaw has revealed that group earnings fell by 8.6 per cent through the second quarter ended 19 June, dropping to C$180m (US$174m) from C$193m (US$186m) during the year-earlier period.
As the group had previously indicated, profit was impacted by the continued upgrading of its information technology and supply chain infrastructure, part of Loblaw's strategy to better compete with the likes of Wal-Mart.
'We continue to make progress on our overall renewal plan,' said Galen Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw Companies Limited. 'However, we are now in the critical period of heightened risk for the infrastructureand information technology components of the plan. As previously stated, we expect investments associated with this to continue to negatively impact our operating income during this period.'
Revenue through the three-month period climbed 1.2 per cent to C$7.3bn (US$7bn), boosted by the acquisition of T&T Supermarkets last year, while same-store sales declined by 0.3 per cent.
