Canadian retailer Loblaw's quarterly profit rises 57 pct
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Feb 23 (Reuters) - Canadian grocery and pharmacy retailer Loblaw Cos Ltd reported a 57 percent rise in quarterly profit, boosted by lower expenses in its retail business and discounting.
Loblaw, which sells everything from grocery to wireless mobile products, forecast 2017 capital expenditure to be at about C$1.3 billion ($989.27 million), slightly higher than the C$1.2 billion it spent in 2016.
The company's revenue rose 2.4 percent to C$11.13 billion in the fourth quarter, beating the average analyst estimate of C$10.98 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Sales in the retail busines, the company's biggest, rose 2.3 percent to C$10.8 billion.
Net earnings available to common shareholders increased to C$201 million, or 50 Canadian cents per share, in the fourth quarter, from C$128 million, or 31 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis the company earned 97 Canadian cents per share, in line with estimates.
($1 = C$1.31) (Reporting by Komal Khettry in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
