Dollarama plans mobile registers to speed checkout lines

DollaramaInc. plans on using mobile cash registers in its stores to reduce long lineups, it announcedWednesday after releasing its quarterly earnings report.

The Montreal-based discount retailer expects to have a couple of handheld devices available in most stores by next year and some outlets will be getting the units later this year.

"We can do transactions paid by debit cards and free up lines, especially in busy periods like Christmas and Halloween," chief financial officer Michael Ross said Wednesday after the company's annual meeting.

Long lines are a particular problem during the pre-Christmas season. The mobile cash registers also help track inventory.

Dollarama says it had a $64.8-million profit in the first quarter, up nearly 22 per cent from the same time last year and above analyst estimates for the Montreal-based discount retailer.

Its profit amounted to 50 cents per share, up from 39 cents in last year's first quarter and three cents above analyst estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Sales rose nearly 13 per cent to $566.1 million, which was slightly above analyst estimates and up 13 per cent from the kast year.

Comparable sales from locations open at least a year were up 6.9 per cent, a reflection of the number of consumers drawn to discount retailers, even as overall retail sales fell.

Dollarama says revenues were helped by a 5.9 per cent increase in the average transaction value, more transactions and a bigger store network.

The company added 17 stores during the quarter ended May 3, bringing the total to 972 Dollarama stores.