(Reuters) – Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc missed third-quarter revenue estimates on Wednesday, hurt by a decline in demand for fuel and as people made fewer shopping trips to its convenience stores due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fuel sales at convenience stores across the globe have been pressured as people avoid venturing out due to fears of contracting the novel coronavirus, while overall store traffic has also come under pressure.
For Couche-Tard, which dispenses fuel at about 10,800 outlets, sales of fuel slumped 29.7% in the third quarter, even as grocery and cigarettes sales remained strong.
Total revenue fell 20.8% to $13.16 billion in the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with market estimates of $13.74 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Net earnings attributable to Couche-Tard shareholders fell to $607.5 million, or 55 cents per share, from $659.9 million, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
