Higher accounting charges hit Rona

Net income fell to 17 cents per share, down from 24 cents or $30.8 million last year, while sales were little changed at $1.14 billion, a drop of $4.4 million from the same time last year.

Same store sales in the three month period dipped 6.4 percent from a year earlier.  Rona said the slow down in same-store sales is a result of a continued decline in consumer confidence and a drop in housing activity.

“Although the economy has been slow to rebound, we were able to capitalize on growth opportunities,” Robert Dutton, President and CEO of RONA, said in the statement.

Canada’s largest distributor and retailer of hardware, home renovation and gardening products, Rona has more than 950 stories, 30,000 employees and $6 billion in annual sales.