The grocery and pharmacy chain said it was raising its quarterly common share dividend by 10.6 per cent as first-quarter revenue jumped 4.2 per cent and profit rose to $594 million. (The Logic)

Talking point: Loblaw said food same-store sales rose 2.4 per cent, while its pharmacy same-store sales gained 4.1 per cent. E-commerce jumped 20.3 per cent. Loblaw said its discount banners continued to outperform other stores, and the company opened five more hard discount stores in the quarter. Canada’s major grocers have been racing to open more discount stores as customers become increasingly price sensitive. Loblaw’s food same-store sales beat analysts’ expectations, wrote John Zamparo, a Scotia Capital analyst, which he said should lessen some investors’ concerns about increased competition.