The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, July 27, edition that on Wednesday, Loblaw reported its revenue grew by 6.9 per cent in the second quarter ended June 17, to $13.7-billion. The Globe's Susan Krashinsky Robertson writes that sales growth was driven by inflation-weary shoppers continuing to visit its discount grocery stores more frequently, such as No Frills, Maxi and Real Canadian Superstore, and the company plans to open 25 more No Frills stores this year. Loblaw reported that its net earnings available to common shareholders grew to $508-million or $1.58 a share in the second quarter. That compared with $387-million or $1.16 in the same period the previous year. According to the company, the majority of that 31-per-cent jump in profit was accounted for by an earlier $111-million charge related to a tax matter in its PC Bank business, which significantly reduced the comparable profits in the prior year's quarter. Same-store sales grew by 6.1 per cent at Loblaw's grocery stores, and 5.7 per cent at drugstores. E-commerce sales grew by 13.9 per cent in the quarter. Loblaw's profit forecast for the year remains unchanged, with the company expecting earnings to grow in the low double digits.