Photo: The Canadian Press

Dollarama Inc. raised its dividend as it reported a fourth-quarter profit of $261.3 million, up from $220.0 million a year earlier.

The retailer says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 7.08 cents per share, up from 5.53 cents per share.

The increased payment to shareholders came as Dollarama says it earned 91 cents per diluted share for the 13-week period ended Jan. 29, up from 74 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Sales for the quarter totaled $1.47 billion, up from $1.22 billion in the same quarter last year.

Dollarama says comparable-store sales grew 15.9 per cent as the number of transactions rose 14.1 per cent and the average transaction size increased 1.6 per cent.

In its outlook for its 2024 financial year, the company says it expects 60 to 70 net new store openings and comparable store sales growth of 5.0 to 6.0 per cent. Dollarama says it expects gross margins of 43.5 to 44.5 per cent.