In total, the Montreal-based company’s five executives shared total compensation of $13.2 million for fiscal 2022 (ending September 24), according to regulatory filings released by the company. That’s an increase of 4% over the same period last year.

However, the increase in their annual bonuses, a compensation component tied to company performance, was more generous, while Metro’s sales benefited from grocery inflation.

The five executives shared an amount of 3.7 million in annual bonuses, a 13.7% increase over the previous year.

For his part, President and Chief Executive Officer Eric La Flèche received total compensation of 5.4 million, an increase of 6.8%. His annual bonus increased by 15% to 1.5 million.

In the circular sent to shareholders, Metro says the company’s board has set “high revenue targets” to determine bonus levels. The company states that these targets were exceeded in the second half of the fiscal year, “as significant grocery inflation boosted sales and accelerated consumer migration to discounters, which had a positive impact on our banners.

In 2022, the company’s revenue, which includes the Metro, Jean Coutu and Super C brands, was $18.9 billion, up 3.3%. Net income, for its part, rose 2.9% to $849.5 million.

In September, when Metro ended its fiscal year, food inflation in Canada was 10.3%, according to Statistics Canada.

Households are unlikely to have reached the end of their grocery aches, according to forecasts by the team of economists at Desjardins Group. Food inflation will average 5.6% in 2024. From 10.3% last November, the pace should moderate to 3.2% in December 2023.

At a time when major Canadian grocers are being singled out for rising grocery prices, Metro denies benefiting while its margins have remained relatively stable.

Despite an 8.3% increase in revenue to $4.4 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 (ended Sept. 24), gross margin remained stable. It reached 20.4%, the same threshold as last year. For comparison, gross margin was 20.2% in 2019 before the pandemic.

When reporting the latest quarterly results last November, management mentioned that it had to deal with inflationary pressures, particularly in transportation and labour.

Major Canadian grocers are the subject of a Competition Bureau study announced in late October. The move comes in a context where food inflation is strengthening despite a moderation in overall inflation.