Western Grocer Serving the industry since 1916
Third Quarter Summary:
• Earnings per share of $0.77, an increase of 16.7% compared to $0.66 last year
• Same-store sales excluding fuel decreased by 1.7% compared to elevated sales last year
• Same-store sales grew 8.3% over fiscal 2020
• Gross margin, excluding fuel, increased by 41 basis points
• EBITDA margin increased by 50 basis points
• Project Horizon strategy on track
• Free cash flow of $551 million, an increase of 75% compared to last year
Stellarton, NS – Empire Company Limited (“Empire” or the “Company”) (TSX: EMP.A) today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended January 29, 2022. For the quarter, the Company recorded net earnings of $203.4 million ($0.77 per share) compared to $176.3 million ($0.66 per share) last year.
“Our team delivered another outstanding quarter, including the highest EPS in memory, with strong increases in sales, EBITDA margin and free cash flow,” said Michael Medline, President & CEO, Empire. “When you look at these results against the backdrop of the extremely volatile economic and retail environment, the strength of our team shines through. We are on track to deliver our Project Horizon targets next year, but the benefits don’t stop there. Material Project Horizon value will continue to be earned in fiscal 2024 and beyond.”
PROJECT HORIZON
In the first quarter of fiscal 2021, the Company launched Project Horizon, a three-year strategy focused on core business expansion and the acceleration of e-commerce. The Company remains on track to achieve an incremental $500 million in annualized EBITDA and an improvement in EBITDA margin of 100 basis points by fiscal 2023 by growing market share and building on cost and margin discipline. The Company is on track to generate a compound average growth rate in earnings per share of 15% over Project Horizon’s three-year timeframe.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2022, earnings continued to be positively impacted by strategic initiatives, including the continued expansion and renovation of the store network, strategic sourcing efficiencies, promotional optimization and data analytics. Management expects these initiatives will continue to drive the majority of the benefits through the remainder of fiscal 2022.
While Project Horizon is on track to achieve its targets by the end of fiscal 2023, the benefits will not stop then.
Certain initiatives launching in fiscal 2023 that are largely focused on store optimization and customer experience will primarily benefit fiscal 2024 and beyond. These benefits will be incremental to those realized from the ongoing program of store renovations, conversions and new builds.
