Empire Co. Ltd. reports Q4 profit down from year ago, raises quarterly dividend

Grocery company Empire Co. Ltd. reported its fourth-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago, but raised its quarterly dividend.

The parent company of the Sobeys and Safeway grocery chains says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share, up from 18.25 cents per share.

The increased payment to shareholders came as the company reported a profit of $148.9 million or 61 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended May 4, down from a profit of $182.9 million or 72 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Sales for the quarter totalled $7.4 billion, about the same as a year ago.

Same-store sales fell 0.3% compared with the same quarter last year, while same-store sales, excluding fuel sales, rose 0.2%.

On an adjusted basis, Empire says it earned 63 cents per diluted share, down from an adjusted profit of 72 cents per diluted share a year ago.