(Reuters) – Canadian retailer Loblaw Cos Ltd missed Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue on Wednesday, signaling that pandemic-led demand for groceries and drugs were waning from its peak.
Consumers returning to restaurants and outdoor activities and spending less time cooking at home due to easing COVID-19 restrictions has slowed sales growth at grocery retailers who saw their businesses boom during the heights of the pandemic.
Total revenue rose 3.3% to C$12.26 billion ($9.57 billion) in the three months ended March 26, missing analysts’ estimates of C$12.36 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Net earnings available to common shareholders rose to C$437 million, or C$1.30 per share for the quarter from C$313 million, or 90 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.
($1 = 1.2808 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)