Loblaw Companies Ltd. posted higher sales and wider year-over-year quarterly profit margins in the third quarter, driven by growing traffic and spending at its supermarket and discount stores.

The Canadian retail giant saw sales reach $19.08 billion in the 16 weeks ended Oct. 4, up 4.5 per cent from a year earlier. Its retail gross profit margin climbed to 31.13 per cent, from 30.90 per cent in the same period last year.

The reporting came as Canadians continue to feel the pinch at the grocery store, paying 4 per cent more for food in September than a year ago. Food inflation edged up from 3.4 per cent in August, even as experts had expected downward pressure on prices after the federal government ended 25 per cent counter-tariffs on U.S. imports.

Loblaw said in its financial statem

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