Canada's Loblaw raises annual profit forecast on strong grocery demand

(Reuters) -Canadian retailer Loblaw Cos Ltd raised its annual earnings forecast on Wednesday as groceries and drugs continue to see robust demand despite higher prices.

As a cost-of-living crisis grips Canada, retailers are leaning on sales of food, medicines and other essentials to offset a slowdown in demand for more expensive purchases such as clothing and electronics.

Retail bellwether Walmart Inc on Tuesday raised its annual forecasts, banking on resilient demand for groceries and discounts to attract inflation-hit consumers.

Loblaw now expects fiscal 2022 adjusted earnings per share growth in the high teens, compared with its prior estimate of mid-to-high teens.

Total revenue rose to C$17.39 billion ($13.14 billion) in the quarter ended Oct. 8, from C$16.05 billion a year earlier. That beat analysts' estimates of C$16.85 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

($1 = 1.3246 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)