The parent company of the Sobeys, Safeway and FreshCo grocery chains reports that its net earnings in the most recent quarter increased by 8.5% to $134.2 million.
Empire Company Ltd. states that this is a jump from $125.7 million in earnings from the previous year.
In the third quarter, the earnings were 54 cents per share, up from 49 cents per share last year.
The adjusted net earnings for the period ending Feb. 3 were $153.1 million, down from $164.8 million a year before.
Sales were about $7.49 billion, compared to around $7.48 billion a year ago.
The growth in Empire’s discount and full-service businesses drove the sales, but the decrease in fuel sales was mainly due to the sale of its retail fuel sites in Western Canada in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.
