Canadian Tire up Q1 profit by 11 per cent

Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. reported an 11 per cent rise in first-quarter profit, fuelled by stronger store sales and consumers switching to its MasterCard product.

The Toronto-based hardware and automotive products retailer saw its profit climb to 35.2 million dollars or 44 cents a share from 31.8 million dollars or 40 cents a year ago.

Canadian Tire will continue to execute an aggressive growth strategy, including the testing later this year of a couple of “next generation” or larger format convenience stores at its gas bars, according to Wayne Sales, president and chief executive officer. “We have an inventory of about 100 Canadian Tire store sites today where we have excess land required for the store and parking, and in which we can open incremental gas bars, car washes and convenience stores,” he said. The company also plans to open 21 stores this year.