Canadian Tire hikes dividend, reports third-quarter profit

Revenue fell from the same quarter last year

TORONTO — Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. raised its dividend as it reported a profit in its latest quarter compared with a loss a year ago when it took a large one-time charge.

The retailer says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.775 per share, up from $1.75 per share.

The increased payment to shareholders came as Canadian Tire reported net income attributable to shareholders of $200.6 million, or $3.59 per diluted share. The result compared with a loss attributable to shareholders of $66.4 million or $1.19 per diluted share in the same quarter last year when it recorded a charge related to its deal to buy back the 20 per cent stake in Canadian Tire Financial Services that was owned by Bank of Nova Scotia.

On a normalized basis, Canadian Tire says it earned $3.59 per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with a normalized profit of $2.96 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $4.19 billion, down from $4.25 billion in the same quarter last year.

Consolidated comparable sales were down 1.5 per cent compared with a year earlier. Comparable sales at its Canadian Tire stores fell 2.2 per cent, while SportChek comparable sales rose 2.9 per cent. Mark’s comparable sales dropped 2.3 per cent.