Dollarama reports Q1 profit and sales up from year ago

Discount retailer Dollarama Inc. says it earned $103.5 million in its latest quarter, up from $101.5 million a year ago, as revenue grew by 9.5%.

The Montreal-based company says the profit amounted to 33 cents per diluted common share for the quarter ended May 5 compared with 31 cents per diluted common share a year ago.

Sales for what was the first quarter of the company's 2020 financial year totalled $828.0 million, up from $756.1 million in the same quarter last year.

Comparable store sales grew 5.8% in the quarter.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 34 cents per share for the quarter and $813 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

Dollarama had 1,236 stores at the end of its latest quarter, up from 1,170 stores a year ago.

"Fiscal 2020 is off to a good start for Dollarama, with strong top line growth and comparable store sales, including a notable increase in basket size and traffic, reflecting the positive consumer response to our value proposition and various category management and merchandising initiatives," chief executive Neil Rossy said in a statement.