Warm Weather Affects Canadian Tire

Fuel and garage product retailer has blamed losses at its gasoline bars and an unseasonably warm Eastern Canadian winter for melting its fourth-quarter earnings by 8.4 per cent.

The retailer, which sells automotive, sporting goods, housewares and clothing as well as petrol at stores, reported its fourth-quarter net income to be US$108.3 million or $1.32 a share, down from US$118.2 million or $1.43 a share in the same period last year. The petroleum division saw its adjusted pre-tax earnings drop from US$3.2 million last year to a loss of $5.7 million, due to reduced margins in central Canada. But Canadian Tire increased its quarterly dividend by two cents a share to 18.5 cents as chief executive Tom Gauld said “the fundamentals of our business remain strong.”