Market News

Metro\'s Earnings Up 27%, Propelled by A&P

Propelled by its acquisition of A&P Canada, Metro Inc. saw its second-quarter earnings jump 27.5% to $57M. Canada\'s third-largest grocery retailer said sales for the Q2 period ending March 11, swelled 75.5% to $2.4 billion. Same-store sales, including the A&P stores, rose 1.6%. Montreal-based Metro, which purchased A&P Canada last July for $1.7 billion, said that over the next few quarters it will concentrate on finding savings from its acquisition of the 236 A&P Canada stores. The retailer said it is aiming to achieve savings of $35M this year and a further $25M in 2007. Metro\'s president and CEO Pierre H. Lessard added: "We will also work on implementing our integration and rationalization, and our information systems to A&P Canada\'s operations." Source: Canadian Grocer E-Newsletter, April 13, 2004.