Dollarama Inc beat analysts' estimates for quarterly results on Wednesday, as the Canadian discount retailer benefited from consumers spending more per visit on household and cleaning products.
The company said while customers reduced the frequency of store visits due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they purchased larger quantities of goods per visit.
Discount chains remain largely unaffected by the slowing pantry-loading phase, as households worried about their financial futures increasingly spend on cheaper groceries, arts and crafts items and summer products, including gardening goods.
Dollarama's US counterparts Dollar General Corp and Dollar Tree Inc reported better-than-expected profits in their latest reported quarters as Americans turned thrifty due to the virus-triggered economic downturn.
Quarterly Performance
Net sales for Dollarama rose 7.1% to C$1.01 billion (€650 million) in the second quarter ended August 2, compared with Wall Street expectations of C$975.7 million (€629.22 million), according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
"Store traffic improved with each month as provincial reopening plans unfolded," chief executive officer Neil Rossy said.
Net earnings narrowed to C$142.5 million (€91.90 million) from C$143.2 million (€92.35 million) in the quarter, hurt by higher COVID-19-related costs.
Still, Dollarama earned 46 Canadian cents per share, compared with market estimates of 41 Canadian cents per share.
