Shares of convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. jumped after the company reported growth in earnings and its top executive said it’s looking at a number of acquisition targets . “We are active with files in all three of our large geographies in Canada, in Europe and in the United States,” chief executive Alex Miller said Tuesday in response to a question about potential transactions. “We’re engaged, and we continue to see quite a bit of deal flow.”

Couche-Tard was up almost five per cent to $74.40 as of 10:22 a.m. in Toronto, the biggest intraday rise since early September.

The Laval, Quebec-based company ended its pursuit of larger rival Seven & i Holdings Co. in July, saying it couldn’t get the Japanese company to engage in serious deal talks.

Couche-Tard earned 78 cents a share on an adjusted basis in the quarter ended Oct. 12, about five per cent higher than the previous year. That beat the average estimate of about 75 cents by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

It’s only the second time in two years the company has reported an increase in per-share earnings on a year-over-year basis.

Revenue of US$17.9 billion was slightly below forecasts. Same-store sales in merchandise — food and beverages especially — rose in all regions, including by 1.2 per cent in the United States, the retailer’s biggest market. Miller said cheap meal deals in its stores are working: “We think we’ve really found something here that is really resonating with consumers and consumers that are strapped for cash.”

Fuel volumes decreased in the U.S. and Europe while rising slightly in Canada on a same-store basis.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Irene Nattel said improvements in operating results are the key to the company gaining a higher multiple. “A second consecutive quarter of positive and sequentially improving (albeit modestly) key performance indicators and financial results is another step in the right direction,” she wrote in a note to clients.

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