(Stellarton) Empire Company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend on Thursday on the sidelines of the publication of its fourth quarter results, which showed an increase in its profit.
The food retailer, which notably owns the brands IGA, Rachelle Béry, Sobeys and Safeway, has specified that it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 18.25 cents per share, compared to that of 16.5 cents per share which prevailed until then. .
Empire’s profit for the quarter ended May 6 was $182.9 million, or 72 cents per share. The result was up from earnings of $178.5 million, or 68 cents per share, for the same period last year.
Empire’s revenue for the fourth quarter was $7.41 billion, down from $7.84 billion in the same quarter last year, which was a week older.
Sales at stores open for at least a year rose 1.6%. Excluding fuel sales, these same revenues showed growth of 2.6%.
The company said its gross margin increased in the quarter to 26.4% from 25.6% a year earlier, mainly due to store improvements, lower supply chain costs and the impact of lower fuel sales.
The grocer recently completed a multi-year growth plan, which included store renovations and expansions, including those of its Farm Boy banner, the conversion of some branches to its FreshCo low-cost banner, the addition of the loyalty program Scène Plus and the improvement of its house brands of food products.
“Now that our six-year transformation is complete, we have the tools, the team, the assets and the capabilities to delight our customers, differentiate ourselves from the competition and establish ourselves in the market,” said Michael Medline, chairman and CEO of Empire and Sobeys, in a statement.
“We are now dedicated to improving our business even further, putting even more focus on our stores and supply chain, improving our digital capabilities and increasing our efficiency. »
Analyst Irene Nattel of RBC Dominion Securities said Empire’s results were slightly better than expected due to better gross margin and slightly lower selling, general and administrative expenses in the industry. food retail.
