Empire Co. said Thursday it earned $65.4 million in its latest quarter compared with $108.8 million a year ago as its stores in Western Canada continued to struggle.
The parent company of Sobeys said profit for the quarter ended Aug. 6 totalled 24 cents per diluted share, down from 39 cents per diluted share a year ago.
Sales in what was the company’s first quarter amounted to $6.19 billion, down from $6.25 billion in the same quarter last year.
Empire said Sobeys’ same-store sales excluding the negative impact of fuel sales fell 1.2% from the same period last year. Excluding fuel and its Western Canadian retail business, same-store sales would have increased 0.6%.
On an adjusted basis, Empire said it earned a first-quarter profit of $73.6 million or 27 cents per diluted share compared with an adjusted profit of $121.7 million or 44 cents per diluted share a year ago.
Empire was hit by heavy losses last year related to its acquisition of Canada Safeway as Sobeys expanded its position in Western Canada.
Marc Poulin, the chief executive who had led the company when it made the $5.8-billion deal to buy the Canadian Safeway assets in 2013, left the company earlier this year.
Empire interim chief executive Francois Vimard said challenges persist including the performance of its stores in Western Canada.
“However we continued to make important progress against a number of key structural initiatives designed to ensure we meet the needs and expectations of our customers and see the return of long-term profitable growth for the company,” Vimard said in a statement.
