NEW YORK — Rising sales helped the Jean Coutu Group, the new owner of part of the Eckerd drugstore chain, capture double-digit earnings gains for the third quarter.
For the three months ended Feb. 29, the Longueuil, Quebec-based pharmacy retailer saw earnings rise 38.7 percent to $36.9 million from $26.6 million. In Canadian dollars, income rose 14.3 percent to $48.5 million, or 21 cents a diluted share, from $42.4 million, or 19 cents, in the same year-ago period. Figures have been converted to U.S. dollars at average exchange for the corresponding periods.
Revenue rose 34 percent to $790.5 million from $589.9 million. In Canadian dollars, total revenues grew 10.5 percent to $1.04 billion from $939 million.
Devaluation of the U.S. dollar negatively impacted results. According to the company, earnings took a $2.8 million hit, or 1.2 cents a share, due to the devaluation.
As reported, Coutu picked up 1,539 Eckerd drugstores and support facilities in 13 Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, as well as Eckerd’s Florida headquarters, for $2.38 billion in an agreement with J.C. Penney.
For the nine months, income rose 28.7 percent to $101.8 million from $79.1 million. In Canadian dollars, earnings expanded 10.1 percent to $136.5 million, or 60 cents a share, from $123.9 million, or 54 cents, a year ago. Revenues in Canadian dollars were nearly flat for the period, recording a 0.3 percent improvement to $3.04 billion from $3.03 billion. In U.S. dollars, revenues gained 17 percent to $2.27 billion from $1.94 billion.
— Ross Tucker