Drug store units pace Imasco to hikes in sales, earnings for '89

Drug Store News, March 5, 1990

Drug store units pace Imasco to hikes in sales, earnings for '89

MONTREAL - Strong performance in its drug store units helped Imasco, Ltd. post a 16-percent gain in net earnings for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, to $366.1 million (Canadian), company officials reported.

Corporate sales increased 6 percent, to $14.7 billion. Sales and revenues for 1989 do not represent figures for the Grisanti's restaurants and Peoples stores sold, or for the Howie's discount drug stores that were converted into associate-owned Shoppers Drug Mart stores, officials said.

Shoppers Drug Mart reported a 24-percent increase in earnings, to $70.6 million, which Imasco attributed to strong growth and efficiencies realized from the Howie's and Super X conversions. Revenues decreased from $194.9 million to $136.2 million, excluding the Howie's stores' performance for the current year. Officials noted that if the Howie's stores performance were excluded from 1988 figures as well, 1989 revenues would show a 19-percent increase.

Meanwhile, Peoples returned to profitability last year, posting $8.0 million in earnings, compared with the previous year's $8.3-million loss. Peoples saw 325 of its units, "where Peoples' potential was limited," sold last year, Imasco said, and as a result revenues fell from $1.841 billion to $1.207 billion.

Corporate performance for the fourth quarter saw Imasco's net earnings climb 14 percent, to $118.2 million. System-wide sales were $3.9 billion, up 6 percent; revenues were $1.5 billion, down 2 percent (again, largely due to the sale of the Peoples units and the Howie's stores' conversion); and operating earnings increased 7 percent, to $205.0 million.