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Loblaw Companies Limited NEWS RELEASE Loblaw Reports 2021 First Quarter Results ( 1 ) BRAMPTON , ONTARIO May 5 , 2021 Loblaw Companies Limited ( TSX : L ) ( " Loblaw ” or the “ Company ” ) announced today its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 27 , 2021. The Company's 2021 First Quarter Report to Shareholders will be available in the Investors section of the Company's website at loblaw.ca and will be filed on SEDAR and available at sedar.com . " A year into the pandemic , our stores , supply chain and digital assets have demonstrated resilience and innovation and are better prepared than ever to serve the needs of Canadians , " said Galen G. Weston , Executive Chairman , Loblaw Companies Limited . “ Our strong financial results reflect continued momentum and positive consumer response to the value and services in our stores and our expanding online solutions . " 2021 FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS Unless otherwise indicated , the following highlights include the impact of COVID - 19 . • • • • Revenue was $ 11,872 million . This represented an increase of $ 72 million , or 0.6 % when compared to the first quarter of 2020 . Retail segment sales were $ 11,670 million . This represented an increase of $ 86 million , or 0.7 % when compared to the first quarter of 2020 . ° ° Food Retail ( Loblaw ) same - stores sales growth ( 4 ) was 0.1 % Drug Retail ( Shoppers Drug Mart ) same - store sales decreased by 1.7 % , with pharmacy same - store sales growth of 3.5 % and front store same - store sales decreased by 6.4 % The Company's e - commerce sales increased 133 % compared to the first quarter of 2020 . The Company incurred approximately $ 48 million ( 2020 - $ 32 million ) in COVID - 19 related costs to ensure the safety and security of customers and colleagues . Operating income was $ 617 million . This represented an increase of $ 76 million , or 14.0 % when compared to the first quarter of 2020 . Adjusted EBITDA ( 2 ) was $ 1,218 million . This represented an increase of $ 53 million , or 4.5 % when compared to the first quarter of 2020 . Net earnings available to common shareholders of the Company were $ 313 million . This represented an increase of $ 73 million , or 30.4 % when compared to the first quarter of 2020. Diluted net earnings per common share were $ 0.90 . This represented an increase of $ 0.24 , or 36.4 % when compared to the first quarter of 2020 . Adjusted net earnings available to common shareholders of the Company ( 2 ) were $ 392 million . This represented an increase of $ 43 million , or 12.3 % when compared to the first quarter of 2020 . Adjusted diluted net earnings per common share ( 2 ) were $ 1.13 . This represented an increase of $ 0.16 , or 16.5 % when compared to the first quarter of 2020 . The e year over year improvement in financial performance was significantly impacted by the Financial Services segment as a result of a $ 20 million reduction in the expected credit loss provision in the current quarter and the lapping of the $ 50 million increase in the expected credit loss provision recorded in the first quarter of 2020 . The Company repurchased , for cancellation , 5.4 million common shares at a cost of $ 350 million . The Company invested $ 203 million in capital expenditures and generated $ 288 million of free cash flow ( 2 ) . See " News Release Endnotes " at the end of this News Release . Page 1