On Thursday, Canadian food retailer Empire Co. Ltd. (EMLAF), reported higher profit in the fourth quarter compared to the prior year. Furthermore, the company declared a final dividend and expects growth in adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2027.
On the OTC Markets OTCPK, the shares ended Wednesday's trading 2.79 percent down at $36.05.
Net earnings for the fourth quarter rose to C$221 million, from C$178 million in the same quarter last year. Earnings per share for the period grew to C$0.94, from C$0.74 in the previous year.
Adjusted net earnings was C$212 million, compared to C$173 million last year.
Adjusted EBITDA increased to C$644 million, from C$599 million in the prior year.
Quarterly sales were up 2.2 percent at C$7.81 billion, from C$7.64 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Furthermore, the company declared a final dividend of C$0.2425 per share on both non-voting Class A shares and Class B common shares. The final dividend will be payable on July 31 to shareholders of record on July 15. This reflects an increase in the annualized dividend rate of 10.2 percent.
Looking ahead to 2027, the company expects pre-tax earnings from other income to be in the range of C$90 million to C$110 million. It also expects to renovate approximately 20 to 25 percent of its store network between fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2029.
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