Canada's dollar-store chain Dollarama Inc has reported quarterly revenue and same-store sales that missed Wall-Street estimates, hurt by a prolonged winter that kept shoppers away from its stores.
The company, which has been facing increased competition from U.S.-based operators such as Dollar Tree, said bad weather in April delayed customer demand for summer products by several weeks.
Dollarama, which has more than 1,000 stores across Canada, said same-store sales rose 2.6 percent in the first quarter. Analysts were expecting a 4.7 percent rise, according to Thomson Reuters I/B./E/S.
Tepid results are mostly due to weather-related issues and are hence short-lived, said Scotiabank analyst Patricia Baker.
She also said U.S- based Dollar Tree is not a threat as it is relatively small compared to Dollarama.
Minimum Wage
Dollarama's disappointing results follow Canadian provinces raising their minimum wage, forcing retailers to turn to automation for mitigating the hit to their bottom lines.
Several Canadian retailers like Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc and Loblaw Cos Ltd have been expanding their online presence and enhancing technology.
Net income for Dollarama rose to C$101.6 million ($78.46 million), or 92 cents per share in the first quarter ended April 29, from C$94.7 million, or 82 cents per share, a year earlier.
Total sales rose to C$756.1 million from C$704.9 million.
Analysts were expecting a profit of 93 cents per share and revenue of C$776.7 million.
The Montreal-based company said it opened 10 new stores in the quarter compared with 13 new stores a year ago
Last year, Dollar Tree said it planned to open 1,000 new stores in Canada over time.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
