TORONTO -- Indigo Books and Music Inc. says it earned $45.1 million in the third quarter of its 2022 fiscal year, even as Omicron took a bite out of the critical Christmas shopping season.

The Toronto-based retailer says it earned $1.62 per common share in the three months ended Jan. 1, a 47 per cent increase from the third quarter of the prior fiscal year, when it recorded net earnings of $30.7 million or $1.11 per common share.

Revenue for the quarter increased $65.3 million or 17.9 per cent to $430.7 million compared to the same period last year.

The company says its sales grew despite disruption from the Omicron variant and the reintroduction of pandemic restrictions in several key jurisdictions during the critical December holiday shopping period.

Indigo says its cost of sales increased $34.5 million to $252.4 million in the third quarter, compared to $217.9 million for the same period last year.

It says its online shipping costs increased by $2.1 million to $22.6 million year-over-year, due to an increase in fuel costs and additional shipping costs incurred in response to the severe flooding in British Columbia.