Empire reports $187.5M Q1 profit, sales up 4.1% from year ago

Empire Company Ltd. reported a first-quarter profit of $187.5 million as its sales rose 4.1% compared with a year ago.

The parent company of the Sobeys grocery chain says its profit amounted to 71 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 6.

The result compared with a profit of $188.5 million or 70 cents per diluted share a year ago when it had more shares outstanding.

Sales totalled $7.94 billion, up from $7.63 billion in the same quarter last year.

Empire says the growth in sales was driven by increased fuel sales, higher food inflation and the benefits from recent initiatives, including the expansion of its FreshCo banner in Western Canada, partially offset by the impact of pandemic restrictions being in place for part of the first quarter of the prior year.

Same-store sales for the quarter rose 3.3%, while same-store sales, excluding fuel, gained 0.4%