Ottawa, Jun. 26 - Fourth-quarter profit at Empire Co Ltd rose more than 2.5 percent as bigger revenue and strong results from its Sobeys supermarket chain helped results, the Canadian food and real estate company said Thursday.
Empire said it earned C$66.5 million ($65.8 million), or C$1.01 a share, in the quarter ended May 3, up from C$64.8 million, or 99 Canadian cents per share, in the same period last year.
Revenue rose 6.2 percent to C$3.56 billion as same-store sales rose by 2.6 percent at Sobeys, Canada's No. 2 supermarket chain behind Loblaw.
Food division sales gained 7.3 percent to C$3.48 billion, but real estate revenue fell 49 percent to C$33.8 million. That decline reflects a C$32.2 million drop in residential real estate revenue that Empire said was expected due to slower lot sales, primarily in western Canada.
Investment revenue increased nearly 7 percent to C$43.4 million in the quarter, the Stellarton, Nova Scotia-based company said.
"Our consolidated earnings benefited from having 100 percent ownership of Sobeys versus 72 percent a year ago, amplified by Sobeys' continued growth in total and same-store sales, selling margins and ongoing cost reduction initiatives," Empire chief executive Paul Sobey said in a statement.
"The higher earnings contribution from Sobeys more than offset the expected lower earnings from our residential real estate operation."
Empire stock is down about 5 percent year-to-date, compared with a decline of about 8 percent for the TSX consumer staples sector , which includes food retailers and producers.