Vaccine mandates for truckers have raised transportation prices -- however have not impacted the cargo of products to shops, the pinnacle of one among Canada's largest grocery chains says.
As an alternative, Metro president and CEO Eric La Fleche mentioned Tuesday the most important impression on Canada's meals trade provide chain has been employee absenteeism on account of COVID-19 protocols.
The labour scarcity attributable to quarantined employees has impacted your entire provide chain -- together with retail shops, distribution centres and suppliers in addition to transportation -- driving sporadic outages of sure merchandise, he mentioned.
"The domino impact clearly has had an impression over the past month on provide chain," La Fleche mentioned.
But whereas there could be much less depth and selection to Metro's product assortment than standard, La Fleche mentioned "there's nonetheless meals on retailer cabinets."
"There is definitely much less selection than there needs to be and we're not as full as we might prefer to be," he mentioned. "However we're not lacking meals on the market."
In the meantime, the worst of the product delays and shortages might need handed, La Fleche mentioned.
"Increasingly more people who had been contaminated are again at work, each at our suppliers and in our personal operations," he mentioned. "It is bettering day-after-day. Each week, we're getting higher."
Nonetheless, inflation is predicted to persist, particularly in transportation.
"Prices are up," La Fleche mentioned. "It is larger inflation than regular in our enterprise. We're getting price will increase from our suppliers and we're managing our costs at retail as greatest we will."
He mentioned delivery prices have confronted "vital inflation" over the previous 12 months, with an added bounce earlier this month when Canada and the U.S. ushered in vaccine mandates on the border which have precipitated trucker shortages.
"We felt an instantaneous enhance within the transportation prices for that," La Fleche mentioned. "However I can not say that we now have large delivery points affecting supply of products to our shops."
He added: "General, I believe on the trucking aspect we're nicely serviced."
Diane Brisebois, Retail Council of Canada president and CEO, mentioned the provision chain is being impacted by a number of elements from labour shortages to climate occasions like flooding and wildfires.
"I want I may merely say it is as a result of there aren't sufficient truckers, but it surely's way more complicated than that," she mentioned.
"Typically we're seeing a delay of products, not a scarcity. The cabinets will get restocked, ultimately."
The feedback got here as Metro raised its quarterly dividend by 10 per cent to 27.5 cents per share and reported its first-quarter revenue and gross sales climbed in contrast with a 12 months in the past.
The Montreal-based grocery and drugstore retailer mentioned Tuesday it earned $207.7 million or 85 cents per diluted shared for the 12-week interval ended Dec. 18, up from a revenue of $191.2 million or 76 cents per share in the identical quarter a 12 months earlier.
On an adjusted foundation, Metro mentioned it earned 88 cents per diluted share, up from an adjusted revenue of 79 cents per diluted share a 12 months in the past.
Gross sales within the quarter totalled $4.32 billion, up from $4.28 billion in the identical quarter final 12 months. The rise got here as meals same-store gross sales fell 1.4 per cent in contrast with a 12 months in the past, whereas pharmacy same-store gross sales rose 7.7 per cent.
Metro mentioned it expects gross sales to stay secure in its second quarter, however cautioned that there continues to be uncertainty.
Within the brief time period, nevertheless, meals gross sales are anticipated to stay comparatively secure as restaurant closures and work-from-home advisories persist, Metro mentioned.
On the pharmacy aspect, the corporate mentioned gross sales are anticipated to climb in contrast with the prior 12 months because of the launch of the COVID-19 fast check distribution in its community coupled with much less restrictive authorities measures.
Metro mentioned it was "unfavourably impacted" final 12 months by a six-week ban on the sale of non-essential items in Quebec.
In mild of the Omicron wave, Metro provided frontline retailer and distribution centre staff reward playing cards final week. Full-time employees will obtain a $300 reward card whereas staff who work 15 hours every week or extra will obtain $150. People who work fewer than 15 hours every week will obtain $75.
The corporate operates below a number of banners together with grocers Metro, Metro Plus, Tremendous C and Meals Fundamentals, and drugstores below the Jean Coutu, Brunet, Metro Pharmacy and Drug Fundamentals banners.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Jan. 25, 2022.
A girl walks move a Metro grocery retailer in Toronto on Wednesday Nov. 1, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ives
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