Second Quarter Summary
- Earnings per share of $0.66
compared to $0.60 last year
- Same-store sales excluding fuel decreased by 1.3% compared to
elevated sales last year
- Excluding fuel, gross margin increased by 72 basis points
- Project Horizon strategy on track
- Free cash flow of $129.5 million
– 72% growth over last year
- $189.6 million of shares
repurchased to date
STELLARTON, NS, Dec. 9, 2021 /CNW/ - Empire Company Limited
("Empire" or the "Company") (TSX: EMP.A) today announced its
financial results for the second quarter ended October 30, 2021. For the quarter, the Company
recorded net earnings of $175.4
million ($0.66 per share)
compared to $161.4 million
($0.60 per share) last year, an
increase of 8.7%.
"We see strong momentum as we continue to improve our operations
and execute on our key Project Horizon initiatives," said Michael
Medline, President & CEO, Empire. "Sales were strong, up 4.9%
over last year and 13.7% over two years ago. We are delivering
two-year same-store sales growth of 6.8%, and at the same time our
margins keep improving. I'm very pleased with our team's consistent
and growing ability to deliver results to our customers and
shareholders."
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 $500
million in annualized EBITDA and an improvement in EBITDA
margin of 100 basis points by fiscal 2023, by growing market share
and building on cost and margin discipline.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2022, earnings continued to be
positively impacted by strategic initiatives, including the
continued expansion and renovation of the store network,
promotional optimization, data analytics and strategic sourcing
efficiencies. Management expects these initiatives will continue to
drive the majority of benefits through the remainder of fiscal
2022.
CONSOLIDATED OPERATING RESULTS
($ in millions,
except per
|
13 Weeks
Ended
|
|
$
|
26 Weeks
Ended
|
|
$
|
share
amounts)
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
Change
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
Change
|
Sales
|
$
|
7,318.3
|
$
|
6,975.4
|
$
|
342.9
|
$
|
14,944.3
|
$
|
14,329.6
|
$
|
614.7
|
Gross
profit(1)
|
|
1,850.8
|
|
1,751.1
|
|
99.7
|
|
3,763.0
|
|
3,599.7
|
|
163.3
|
Operating
income
|
|
327.9
|
|
306.5
|
|
21.4
|
|
675.3
|
|
684.1
|
|
(8.8)
|
EBITDA(1)
|
|
565.2
|
|
513.4
|
|
51.8
|
|
1,147.1
|
|
1,095.9
|
|
51.2
|
Net
earnings(2)
|
|
175.4
|
|
161.4
|
|
14.0
|
|
363.9
|
|
353.3
|
|
10.6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diluted earnings
per share
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPS(2)(3)
|
$
|
0.66
|
$
|
0.60
|
$
|
0.06
|
$
|
1.36
|
$
|
1.31
|
$
|
0.05
|
Diluted weighted
average number
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
of shares outstanding
(in millions)
|
|
266.3
|
|
270.1
|
|
|
|
267.4
|
|
269.9
|
|
|
Dividend per
share
|
$
|
0.15
|
$
|
0.13
|
|
|
$
|
0.30
|
$
|
0.26
|
|
|
|
13 Weeks
Ended
|
26 Weeks
Ended
|
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
Gross
margin(1)
|
25.3%
|
25.1%
|
25.2%
|
25.1%
|
EBITDA
margin(1)
|
7.7%
|
7.4%
|
7.7%
|
7.6%
|
Same-store
sales(1) growth
|
0.4%
|
7.3%
|
0.0%
|
7.9%
|
Same-store sales
(decline) growth, excluding fuel
|
(1.3)%
|
8.7%
|
(1.8)%
|
9.8%
|
Effective income tax
rate
|
26.2%
|
26.5%
|
25.3%
|
28.1%
|
|
|
(1)
|
See "Non-GAAP
Financial Measures & Financial Metrics" section of this News
Release.
|
(2)
|
Attributable to
owners of the Company.
|
(3)
|
Earnings per share
("EPS").
|
OUTLOOK
The Company and the industry continue to be affected by the
novel coronavirus ("COVID-19" or "pandemic"). Recent relaxation of
COVID-19 restrictions by government agencies has increased levels
of food consumption outside of the home and related reductions in
grocery industry volumes. Management expects to see these trends
continue as vaccination rates increase and COVID-19 restrictions
are relaxed. As restrictions ease, consumers are expected to shop
more frequently and at more grocery stores. However, the Company
does not expect grocery consumer behaviour to return fully to
pre-pandemic levels for the foreseeable future. As economic
activity increases and travel restrictions reduce, fuel volumes
have increased and will likely continue to do so during the
remainder of fiscal 2022.
The Company's top priorities remain the health and safety of
employees, customers and communities while maintaining a resilient
supply chain to meet the needs of Canadians and supporting
charitable organizations. The Company is monitoring the potential
impact of new COVID-19 variants and continues to invest in
increased safety and sanitization procedures to ensure customers
and employees are protected while shopping and working in stores.
Management is closely monitoring the impact of the pandemic on food
retail around the world and continues to learn from best
practices.
During the second quarter, the cost of maintaining safety and
sanitization measures was approximately $8.5
million (second quarter of fiscal 2021 – $14 million). For the third quarter and the
remainder of fiscal 2022, it is expected the Company will continue
to incur selling and administrative expenses related to maintaining
safety and sanitization measures, and other COVID-19 related costs
consistent with the second quarter.
The Company expects that same-store sales will continue to
reduce in the remainder of fiscal 2022 as industry volumes decrease
compared to the unusually high COVID-19 driven sales impacts in
fiscal 2021. Margins will continue to benefit from Project Horizon
initiatives, other operating improvements and the addition of
Longo's. These benefits could be partially offset by effects of
sales mix changes between banners and the impact of increasing fuel
sales.
The Company expects improvements in the results of its
Toronto based e-commerce site as
volumes continue to increase and efficiencies improve. At the same
time, Voilà will also incur additional costs as the Montreal facility begins operations and the
Calgary facility is commissioned.
The combination of improving results in Toronto, increasing costs in Montreal and Calgary, and additional store pick e-commerce
locations is expected to reduce Empire's fiscal 2022 net earnings
by approximately $0.25 to
$0.30 per share (fiscal 2021 –
$0.18). Future earnings will be
impacted primarily by the rate of sales growth. The Company expects
that fiscal 2022 will reflect the highest net earnings dilution for
the Voilà program as the Toronto
site is expected to begin to reflect positive EBITDA results
towards the end of its third year of operations.
When announcing the Project Horizon strategy, management
estimated an increase of $500 million
in EBITDA over the three-year period, excluding COVID-19 impacts.
At that time, based on the 12-months ended February 1, 2020, management further indicated
that they expected earnings per share to generate a compound
average growth rate of at least 15% over the Project Horizon
timeframe. Due to significant positive impacts on sales and
earnings related to COVID-19 in fiscal 2021, growth rates in fiscal
2022 for same-store sales and net earnings are expected to be
lower. However, management continues to expect the Company will
achieve its three-year Project Horizon strategy targets, and growth
of same-store sales and net earnings in fiscal 2023.
Sales
Sales for the quarter ended October 30,
2021 increased by 4.9% primarily driven by the
acquisition of Longo's, higher fuel sales and benefits from Project
Horizon initiatives, including the expansion of Farm Boy and Voilà
in Ontario and FreshCo in
Western Canada. The increase is
partially offset by the stabilization of consumer buying behaviour
as COVID-19 restrictions are eased across the country.
Gross Profit
Gross profit for the quarter ended October 30, 2021 increased by 5.7% primarily as a
result of the inclusion of Longo's in the Company's results and
benefits from Project Horizon initiatives, including the use of
advanced analytical promotional optimization tools and the
expansion of Farm Boy and Voilà in Ontario and FreshCo in Western Canada. The increase is partially
offset by reduced sales volume as a result of changes in consumer
buying behaviour as COVID-19 restrictions are eased across the
country.
Gross margin for the quarter increased to 25.3% from 25.1%
compared to the prior year. Excluding the effect of fuel mix, gross
margin would have been 72 basis points higher compared to the prior
year. Gross margin was positively impacted by benefits from Project
Horizon initiatives and the inclusion of Longo's, partially offset
by the mix effect of higher fuel sales.
Operating Income
For the quarter ended October 30,
2021, operating income in the Food retailing segment
increased mainly due to improved earnings as a result of higher
sales and higher gross profit, partially offset by higher selling
and administrative expenses. Selling and administrative expenses
increased primarily as a result of the inclusion of Longo's,
investment in Project Horizon initiatives, including the expansion
of Farm Boy and Voilà in Ontario
and FreshCo in Western Canada, and
increased right-of-use asset depreciation. The increase was
partially offset by lower incentive compensation accruals.
Operating income from the Investments and other operations
segment for the quarter increased primarily as a result of improved
equity earnings from Genstar, as discussed in the "Investments and
Other Operations" section.
EBITDA
For the quarter ended October 30,
2021, EBITDA increased to $565.2
million from $513.4 million in
the prior year mainly as a result of the same factors
affecting operating income. EBITDA margin increased to 7.7% from
7.4%.
Income Taxes
The effective income tax rate for the quarter ended October 30, 2021 was 26.2% compared to 26.5% in
the same quarter last year. The effective tax rate for the current
quarter was slightly lower than the statutory rate primarily due to
consolidated structured entities that are taxed at lower
rates. For the prior year, the effective tax rate was in line with
the statutory rate.
Net Earnings
|
13 Weeks
Ended
|
26 Weeks
Ended
|
($ in millions,
except per share amounts)
|
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
Net
earnings(1)
|
$
|
175.4
|
$
|
161.4
|
$
|
363.9
|
$
|
353.3
|
EPS (fully
diluted)
|
$
|
0.66
|
$
|
0.60
|
$
|
1.36
|
$
|
1.31
|
Diluted weighted
average number of
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
shares outstanding
(in millions)
|
|
266.3
|
|
270.1
|
|
267.4
|
|
269.9
|
|
|
(1)
|
Attributable to
owners of the Company.
|
Capital Expenditures
The Company invested $188.6 million in capital
expenditures(1) for the quarter ended October 30, 2021 (2021 – $120.7 million) including renovations and
construction of new stores, investments in e-commerce fulfilment
centres, FreshCo locations in Western
Canada, and investments in advanced analytics technology and
other technology systems.
(1)
|
Capital
expenditures are calculated on an accrual basis and includes
acquisitions of property, equipment and investment properties, and
additions to intangibles.
|
Free Cash Flow
|
|
13 Weeks
Ended
|
26 Weeks
Ended
|
($ in
millions)
|
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
Cash flows from
operating activities
|
$
|
459.1
|
$
|
318.8
|
$
|
883.7
|
$
|
718.2
|
Add:
|
proceeds on disposal
of assets(1) and lease
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
terminations
|
|
4.4
|
|
16.5
|
|
14.8
|
|
40.0
|
Less:
|
payments of lease
liabilities, net of payments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
received for finance
subleases
|
|
(155.4)
|
|
(100.7)
|
|
(259.9)
|
|
(233.1)
|
Less:
|
acquisitions of
property, equipment, investment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
property and
intangibles
|
|
(178.6)
|
|
(159.4)
|
|
(393.6)
|
|
(304.8)
|
Free cash
flow(2)
|
$
|
129.5
|
$
|
75.2
|
$
|
245.0
|
$
|
220.3
|
|
|
(1)
|
Proceeds on
disposal of assets include property, equipment and investment
property.
|
(2)
|
See "Non-GAAP
Financial Measures & Financial Metrics" section of this News
Release.
|
Free cash flow increased for the quarter ended October 30, 2021 primarily as a result of higher
operating activities, driven by lower income taxes paid, favourable
working capital changes and higher net earnings. The increase is
partially offset by the timing of lease payments due to the timing
of quarter end reporting dates.
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE BY SEGMENT
Food Retailing
|
13 Weeks
Ended
|
|
$
|
26 Weeks
Ended
|
|
$
|
($ in
millions)
|
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
|
Change
|
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
|
Change
|
Sales
|
$
|
7,318.3
|
$
|
6,975.4
|
$
|
342.9
|
$
|
14,944.3
|
$
|
14,329.6
|
$
|
614.7
|
Gross
profit
|
|
1,850.8
|
|
1,751.1
|
|
99.7
|
|
3,763.0
|
|
3,599.7
|
|
163.3
|
Operating
income
|
|
305.4
|
|
299.2
|
|
6.2
|
|
642.7
|
|
671.1
|
|
(28.4)
|
EBITDA
|
|
542.7
|
|
506.2
|
|
36.5
|
|
1,114.4
|
|
1,082.8
|
|
31.6
|
Net
earnings(1)
|
|
159.3
|
|
162.8
|
|
(3.5)
|
|
338.8
|
|
352.1
|
|
(13.3)
|
|
|
(1)
|
Attributable to
owners of the Company.
|
Investments and Other Operations
|
13 Weeks
Ended
|
|
$
|
26 Weeks
Ended
|
|
$
|
($ in
millions)
|
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
|
Change
|
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
|
Change
|
Crombie
REIT
|
$
|
10.2
|
$
|
6.9
|
$
|
3.3
|
$
|
17.6
|
$
|
11.8
|
$
|
5.8
|
Genstar
|
|
12.5
|
|
2.6
|
|
9.9
|
|
18.4
|
|
5.2
|
|
13.2
|
Other operations, net
of
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
corporate
expenses
|
|
(0.2)
|
|
(2.2)
|
|
2.0
|
|
(3.4)
|
|
(4.0)
|
|
0.6
|
|
$
|
22.5
|
$
|
7.3
|
$
|
15.2
|
$
|
32.6
|
$
|
13.0
|
$
|
19.6
|
For the quarter ended October 30,
2021, income from Investments and other operations increased
primarily as a result of higher equity earnings from Genstar due to
increased residential property sales.
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL CONDITION
($ in millions,
except per share and ratio calculations)
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
May 1,
2021
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
Shareholders' equity,
net of non-controlling interest
|
$
|
4,706.0
|
$
|
4,372.7
|
$
|
4,196.5
|
Book value per common
share(1)
|
$
|
17.73
|
$
|
16.30
|
$
|
15.60
|
Long-term debt,
including current portion
|
$
|
1,160.9
|
$
|
1,225.3
|
$
|
1,341.3
|
Long-term lease
liabilities, including current portion
|
$
|
6,139.9
|
$
|
5,908.1
|
$
|
5,431.1
|
Net funded debt to
net total capital(1)
|
|
59.3%
|
|
58.8%
|
|
58.9%
|
Funded debt to
EBITDA(1)(2)
|
|
3.3x
|
|
3.3x
|
|
3.3x
|
EBITDA to interest
expense(1)(3)
|
|
8.4x
|
|
8.0x
|
|
7.4x
|
Trailing four-quarter
EBITDA
|
$
|
2,195.0
|
$
|
2,143.8
|
$
|
2,050.6
|
Trailing four-quarter
interest expense
|
$
|
262.8
|
$
|
268.8
|
$
|
276.4
|
Current assets to
current liabilities
|
|
0.8x
|
|
0.9x
|
|
0.9x
|
Total
assets
|
$
|
15,980.6
|
$
|
15,173.9
|
$
|
14,567.0
|
Total non-current
financial liabilities
|
$
|
7,595.4
|
$
|
7,187.7
|
$
|
6,705.4
|
|
|
(1)
|
See "Non-GAAP
Financial Measures & Financial Metrics" section of this News
Release.
|
(2)
|
Calculation uses
trailing four-quarter EBITDA.
|
(3)
|
Calculation uses
trailing four-quarter EBITDA and interest expense.
|
Sobeys Inc.'s ("Sobeys") credit ratings remained unchanged from
the prior quarter. The following table shows Sobeys' credit ratings
as at October 30, 2021:
Rating
Agency
|
Credit Rating
(Issuer rating)
|
Trend/Outlook
|
Dominion Bond Rating
Service
|
BBB (low)
|
Stable
|
Standard &
Poor's
|
BBB-
|
Stable
|
DIVIDEND DECLARATION
The Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of
$0.15 per share on both the
Non-Voting Class A shares ("Class A shares") and the Class B common
shares that will be payable on January 28,
2022 to shareholders of record on January 14, 2022. These dividends are eligible
dividends as defined for the purposes of the Income Tax Act
(Canada) and applicable provincial
legislation.
NORMAL COURSE ISSUER BID ("NCIB")
On June 18, 2020, the Company
filed a notice of intent with the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") to
purchase for cancellation up to 5.0 million Class A shares
representing approximately 3.0% of Class A shares outstanding. The
NCIB was amended on April 19, 2021 to
purchase up to 8,548,551 Class A shares representing
approximately 5.0% of the Class A shares outstanding and expired on
July 1, 2021. As of July 1, 2021, under this filing, the Company
purchased 6,063,806 Class A shares at a weighted average price of
$38.00 for a total consideration of
$230.4 million.
On June 22, 2021, the Company
renewed its NCIB by filing a notice of intention with the TSX to
purchase for cancellation up to 8,468,408 Class A shares
representing 5.0% of the 169,368,174 Class A shares outstanding as
of June 18, 2021. The purchases will
be made through the facilities of the TSX and/or any alternative
trading systems to the extent they are eligible. The price that
Empire will pay for any such shares will be the market price at the
time of acquisition. The Company believes that repurchasing shares
at the prevailing market prices from time to time is a worthwhile
use of funds and in the best interests of Empire and its
shareholders. The NCIB expires on July 1,
2022.
Shares purchased under the Company's NCIB for the second quarter
and year-to-date ended October 30,
2021 are shown in the table below:
|
13 Weeks
Ended
|
26 Weeks
Ended
|
($ in millions,
except per share amounts)
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
Oct. 30,
2021
|
Oct. 31,
2020
|
Number of
shares
|
|
579,267
|
|
55,500
|
|
3,850,349
|
|
55,500
|
Weighted average
price per share
|
$
|
38.56
|
$
|
37.47
|
$
|
39.56
|
$
|
37.47
|
Cash consideration
paid
|
$
|
22.3
|
$
|
2.1
|
$
|
152.3
|
$
|
2.1
|
Including purchases made subsequent to the end of the quarter,
as at December 7, 2021, the Company
has purchased 4,831,765 Class A shares (December 8, 2020 – 810,817) at a weighted average
price of $39.25 (December 8, 2020 – $36.29) for a total consideration of $189.6 million (December
8, 2020 – $29.4 million).
COMPANY STRATEGY
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.
For additional detail on Project Horizon, please refer to
Empire's Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the
second quarter ended October 30,
2021.
BUSINESS UPDATES
Farm Boy
The acquisition of Farm Boy on December
10, 2018 added 26 locations to the Ontario store network with plans to double the
store count in five years from the acquisition date, mainly in the
Greater Toronto Area ("GTA"). The
Company opened one new location during the second quarter and
opened two new locations subsequent to the end of the quarter,
including one new and one converted site. Farm Boy is on track to
expand its footprint by seven net new stores in fiscal 2022. As at
December 8, 2021, 42 Farm Boy stores
are open.
FreshCo
In fiscal 2018, the Company announced plans to expand its
FreshCo discount format to Western
Canada with expectations of converting up to 25% of the 255
Safeway and Sobeys full-service format stores in Western Canada to the FreshCo discount
format.
The Company opened one FreshCo location in Western Canada during the second quarter and
three locations subsequent to the end of the quarter. The Company
expects to open another seven FreshCo sites in Alberta in the remainder of fiscal 2022, for a
total of 40 locations open in Western
Canada by the end of the fiscal year.
As at December 8, 2021:
- 33 stores are currently open and operating:
-
- 16 in British Columbia
("B.C.")
- 6 in Manitoba
- 5 in Saskatchewan
- 5 in Alberta
- 1 in Northern Ontario
- 7 stores are expected to open in Alberta in the remainder of fiscal 2022
- 2 stores have been announced and are expected to open in
Alberta in fiscal 2023
Business Acquisition
On March 16, 2021, the Company,
through a wholly-owned subsidiary, signed an agreement to acquire
51% of the business of Longo's, a long-standing, family-built
network of specialty grocery stores in the GTA, and the Grocery
Gateway e-commerce business. The purchase price of the transaction
was $660.6 million. The Company
acquired the business through the issuance of 3,187,348 Non-Voting
Class A shares with a transaction date price of $129.6 million, cash of $196.6 million and a contingent note payable of
$10.7 million. The acquisition closed
effective May 10, 2021.
After the fifth anniversary of the transaction, the Longo's 49%
non-controlling shareholders have an option to sell up to a 12.25%
per annum interest in Longo's to Sobeys, at a multiple applied to
the last 12 months earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization. The multiple will vary depending on achievement
of certain business results. If Longo's non-controlling
shareholders exercise an option to sell, Sobeys will have a
corresponding call option for the same percentage in the following
year. After the tenth anniversary of the transaction, both Sobeys
and Longo's have mutual put and call options for any remaining
minority shares outstanding. A financial liability of $239.7 million has been recognized at the date of
acquisition.
Store Closure and Conversion Costs
During the second quarter ended October
30, 2021, the Company expensed $6.0
million (2021 – $2.4 million)
in store closure and conversion costs related to Farm Boy and
FreshCo conversions.
Voilà
On June 22, 2020, the Company
introduced the future of online grocery home delivery to GTA
customers through the Company's newest e-commerce platform, Voilà.
Voilà is powered by Ocado Group plc's ("Ocado") industry-leading
technology and fills orders through its automated Customer
Fulfilment Centre ("CFC") in Vaughan, Ontario. Robots assemble orders
efficiently and safely, resulting in minimal product handling,
while Voilà teammates deliver orders directly to customers'
homes.
The Vaughan CFC services the GTA, Barrie, Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, Hamilton, Niagara, St. Catharines and Brantford. In
March 2021, the Company opened its
first spoke location in Etobicoke,
Ontario. Spokes are cross dock facilities that improve
efficiencies at CFCs. The platform is exceeding all internal
operational metrics, with strong on-time delivery, fulfilment, and
customer satisfaction and retention results.
The Company intends to operate four CFCs across Canada. The second CFC in Montreal is expected to be ready to deliver to
customers in Spring 2022 and will serve major cities in the
province of Quebec. The third CFC
will be located in Calgary and
will service the majority of Alberta. It is expected to deliver to
customers in the first half of calendar 2023. With four CFCs, the
Company will be able to serve approximately 75% of Canadian
households representing approximately 90% of Canadians' e-commerce
spend.
In fiscal 2021, the Company launched Voilà Curbside Pickup
service at 30 store locations across Atlantic Canada and Alberta, and the service has since expanded to
B.C., Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario. In the second quarter of fiscal 2022,
the Company added 30 locations and expects to add up to 35 further
locations in the remainder of fiscal 2022. The store pick solution
is powered by Ocado's technology and will serve customers in areas
where future CFCs will not deliver or are not yet built.
Voilà had a $0.07 and $0.12 dilutive impact on Empire's earnings per
share in the second quarter and year-to-date, respectively (2021 –
$0.05 and $0.10).
In Canada, online grocery sales
have continued to grow, although at a slower pace than when
COVID-19 began. In the second quarter of fiscal 2022, the Company's
four e-commerce platforms experienced combined sales growth of
33.0% compared to the prior year. Excluding Grocery Gateway, growth
was 1.8% in the quarter. This increase is primarily driven by
continued growth of Voilà, partially offset by COVID-19 related
declines from IGA.net and Thrifty's due to the stabilization of
consumer buying behaviour.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This document contains forward-looking statements which are
presented for the purpose of assisting the reader to contextualize
the Company's financial position and understand management's
expectations regarding the Company's strategic priorities,
objectives and plans. These forward-looking statements may not be
appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are
identified by words or phrases such as "anticipates", "expects",
"believes", "estimates", "intends", "could", "may", "plans",
"predicts", "projects", "will", "would", "foresees" and other
similar expressions or the negative of these terms.
These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, the following items:
- The Company's expectations regarding the financial impact and
benefits of Project Horizon and its underlying initiatives, which
could be impacted by several factors, including the time required
by the Company to complete the initiatives and impacts of COVID-19,
including changes in customer behaviour;
- The Company's anticipation that a percentage of food
consumption that has shifted from restaurants and hospitality
businesses to grocery stores will remain in grocery stores, which
may be impacted by future shutdowns or eased public health
restrictions due to COVID-19, the speed with which restaurants and
hospitality businesses re-open and resume operations, and the
ongoing demand for restaurants and hospitality services in the near
term;
- The Company's expectations regarding an increase in fuel sales,
which could be impacted by future shutdowns and travel restrictions
implemented by government authorities;
- The Company's expectation that for the remaining quarters of
fiscal 2022 it will incur selling and administrative expenses to
respond to COVID-19 consistent with the second quarter, which may
be impacted by future shutdowns or eased public health restrictions
due to COVID-19 and safety precautions and transitions
required;
- The Company's expectations that fiscal 2022 will reflect the
highest net earnings dilution for the Voilà program, expectations
which may be impacted by COVID-19, future operating and capital
costs, customer response and the performance of its technology
provider, Ocado;
- The Company's expectations that fiscal 2023 will achieve growth
of same-store sales and net earnings, which may be impacted by
COVID-19, including changes in customer buying behavior; and
- The FreshCo expansion in Western
Canada and Farm Boy expansion in Ontario, including the Company's expectations
regarding future operating results and profitability, the amount
and timing of expenses, the projected number of store openings, and
the location, feasibility and timing of construction, all of which
may be impacted by COVID-19, construction schedules and permits,
the economic environment and labour relations.
By its nature, forward-looking information requires the Company
to make assumptions and is subject to inherent risks, uncertainties
and other factors which may cause actual results to differ
materially from forward-looking statements made. For more
information on risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may impact
the Company's forward-looking statements, please refer to the
Company's materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory
authorities, including the "Risk Management" section of the fiscal
2021 annual MD&A.
Although the Company believes the predictions, forecasts,
expectations or conclusions reflected in the forward-looking
information are reasonable, it can provide no assurance that such
matters will prove correct. Readers are urged to consider the
risks, uncertainties and assumptions carefully in evaluating the
forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on such forward-looking information. The forward-looking
information in this document reflects the Company's current
expectations and is subject to change. The Company does not
undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made
by or on behalf of the Company other than as required by applicable
securities laws.
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES & FINANCIAL METRICS
There are measures and metrics included in this news release
that do not have a standardized meaning under generally accepted
accounting principles ("GAAP") and therefore may not be comparable
to similarly titled measures and metrics presented by other
publicly traded companies. The Company includes these measures and
metrics because it believes certain investors use these measures
and metrics as a means of assessing financial performance.
Empire's definition of the non-GAAP terms are as follows:
- Same-store sales are sales from stores in the same location in
both reporting periods.
- Gross profit is calculated as sales less cost of sales.
- Gross margin is gross profit divided by sales.
- Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
("EBITDA") is calculated as net earnings, before finance costs (net
of finance income), income tax expense, depreciation and
amortization of intangibles.
- EBITDA margin is EBITDA divided by sales.
- Free cash flow is calculated as cash flows from operating
activities, plus proceeds on disposal of property, equipment and
investment property, less acquisitions of property, equipment,
investment property and intangibles.
- Book value per common share is shareholders' equity, net of
non-controlling interest, divided by total common shares
outstanding.
- Funded debt is all interest-bearing debt, which includes bank
loans, bankers' acceptances, long-term debt and long-term lease
liabilities.
- Net funded debt is calculated as funded debt less cash and cash
equivalents.
- Net total capital is calculated as funded debt plus
shareholders' equity, net of non-controlling interest, less cash
and cash equivalents.
- Net funded debt to net total capital ratio is net funded debt
divided by net total capital.
- Funded debt to EBITDA ratio is funded debt divided by trailing
four-quarter EBITDA.
- Interest expense is calculated as interest expense on financial
liabilities measured at amortized cost and interest expense on
lease liabilities.
- EBITDA to interest expense ratio is trailing four-quarter
EBITDA divided by trailing four-quarter interest expense.
For a more complete description of Empire's non-GAAP measures
and metrics, please see Empire's MD&A for the second quarter
ended October 30, 2021.
CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION
The Company will hold an analyst call on Thursday, December 9, 2021 beginning at
12:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)
during which senior management will discuss the Company's financial
results for the second quarter of fiscal 2022. To join this
conference call, dial (888) 390-0546 outside the Toronto area or (416) 764-8688 from within the
Toronto area. To secure a line,
please call 10 minutes prior to the conference call; you will
be placed on hold until the conference call begins. The media and
investing public may access this conference call via a listen mode
only. You may also listen to a live audiocast of the conference
call by visiting the "Quick Links" section of the Company's website
located at www.empireco.ca.
Replay will be available by dialing (888) 390-0541 and entering
access code 190207 until midnight December
23, 2021, or on the Company's website for 90 days following
the conference call.
ABOUT EMPIRE
Empire Company Limited (TSX: EMP.A) is a Canadian company
headquartered in Stellarton, Nova
Scotia. Empire's key businesses are food retailing, through
wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc., and related real estate. With
approximately $28.9 billion in annual
sales and $16.0 billion in assets,
Empire and its subsidiaries, franchisees and affiliates employ
approximately 134,000 people.
Additional financial information relating to Empire, including
the Company's Annual Information Form, can be found on the
Company's website at www.empireco.ca or on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Empire Company Limited