Better efficiency will fuel Metro’s earnings

Article Excerpt

Ottawa continues to pressure Metro and other major food sellers to lower their selling prices, even though the food inflation rate dropped to 4.7% in November 2023 from 11.4% in November 2022. Even if the government forces it to cut prices, the company’s new automated distribution centres will lower its costs and lift its long-term profitability. METRO INC. $68 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol MRU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 228.7 million; Market cap: $15.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.metro.ca) operates 960 grocery stores and 650 drugstores, in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. In its fiscal 2023 fourth quarter, ended September 30, 2023, overall sales rose 14.4%, to $5.07 billion from $4.43 billion a year earlier. Food same-store sales improved 6.8%. That’s due to a 5.5% rise in selling prices in response to rising costs for merchandise, transportation and labour. The company also continues to see higher customer traffic at its discount banners. As well, sales…