Empire Drives Solid Second Quarter Fiscal 2020 Earnings

Empire Company Limited, a Canadian-based company with key businesses in food retailing, announced its financial results for the second quarter, which ended November 2, 2019. For the quarter, the company recorded adjusted net earnings, net of non-controlling interest of $158 million compared to $110.4 million last year, which is an increase of 43.1 percent.

“Our strong second quarter fiscal 2020 results reflect both top line growth and significant gross margin expansion,” said Michael Medline, President and CEO. “This has led to industry leading year over year EBITDA margin expansion. It is a testament to our team that EPS from continuing operations exceeded 50 cents for the first time since the first quarter of fiscal 2013 while all strategic initiatives are progressing with velocity.”

For fiscal 2020, management expects to achieve at least $250 million of in-year benefits for a cumulative benefit of at least $550 million, an increase in its original projection for the three-year program. These in-year benefits for fiscal 2020 are expected to result from the completion of the rollout of the category reset program as well as continued cost reductions and operational improvements.

Second Quarter Summary:

• Same store sales excluding fuel increased by 2%
• Earnings per share of $0.57 compared to $0.38 the previous year
• Adjusted earnings per share of $0.58 compared to $0.40 the previous year
• Crombie REIT’s disposal of 15 property portfolio positively impacted Empire’s adjusted EPS by $0.06
• 11 FreshCo locations opened in British Columbia and Manitoba in calendar 2019
• Repurchased 930,454 shares for a total consideration of $33.1 million