Dollarama earns $321.5M Q2 profit, up from a year ago, as sales rise 10.3%

Dollarama Inc. reported a second-quarter profit of $321.5 million, up from $285.9 million a year earlier, as its sales rose 10.3%.

The retailer says its profit amounted to $1.16 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended Aug. 3, up from $1.02 per diluted share a year earlier.

Sales for the quarter totalled $1.72 billion, up from $1.56 billion in the same quarter last year.

Dollarama says the increase was primarily driven by growth in the total number of stores over the past 12 months, from 1,583 a year ago to 2,060 on Aug. 3.

The increase came as comparable store sales for the quarter increased by 4.9%, including a 3.9% increase in the number of transactions and a 0.9% increase in average transaction size.

Dollarama president and chief executive Neil Rossy says the quarter marked a significant milestone in the company's international expansion with entries into two new markets, as it completed its acquisition of Australian discount retailer The Reject Shop Ltd., and opened Dollarcity's first store in Mexico.