Renovation
A capital investment in a store resulting in no change to the store square footage.
Retail sales
Combined sales of stores owned by Loblaw and those owned by Loblaw’s independent franchisees.
Retail square footage
Retail square footage includes corporate and independent franchised stores.
Return on average common shareholders’ equity
Net earnings from continuing operations available to common shareholders divided by average total common shareholders’ equity.
Return on average total assets
Operating income divided by average total assets excluding cash and cash equivalents, short term investments, security deposits included in other assets and assets of discontinued operations (see non-GAAP financial measures – PDF, 53 KB).
Same-store sales
Retail sales from the same physical location for stores in operation in that location in both periods being compared but excluding sales from a store that has undergone a conversion or major expansion in the period.
Variable interest entity (“VIE”)
An entity that either does not have sufficient equity at risk to finance its activities without subordinated financial support or where the holders of the equity at risk lack the characteristics of a controlling financial interest (see note 31 to the consolidated financial statements – PDF, 34 KB).
Weighted average common shares outstanding
The number of common shares outstanding determined by relating the portion of time within the year the common shares were outstanding to the total time in that year.
Working capital
Total current assets excluding current assets of discontinued operations, less total current liabilities excluding current liabilities of discontinued operations.
Year
The Company’s year end is December 31. Activities are reported on a fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to December 31, usually 52 weeks in duration, but includes 53 weeks every 5 to 6 years.