Q2 2026 Empire Company Ltd Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Empire Co Ltd (EMLAF) reported a 12.5% improvement in core business performance over the previous year, excluding other income and share of earnings from equity investments.
- Same-store sales grew by 2.5%, with full-service stores showing more than 2% growth, indicating strong customer engagement.
- The company achieved a gross margin improvement of 14 basis points, driven by operational efficiencies and disciplined execution.
- Empire Co Ltd (EMLAF) is focusing on strategic priorities such as customer relevance, store support, growth, and cost control, which are expected to drive future performance.
- The company has significant capacity for growth, with plans to expand its discount and full-service store formats across various regions.
- Adjusted EPS was $0.69, which is $0.04 lower than the previous year, partly due to lower real estate-related earnings.
- SG&A expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization, grew by 4.6%, impacting the overall cost structure.
- The e-commerce market has not grown as expected, leading to a reassessment of strategies and partnerships.
- Empire Co Ltd (EMLAF) faces ongoing challenges with cost increases from suppliers, although these are currently under control.
- The company is experiencing mixed impacts from higher wholesale distribution sales, which partially offset retail margin improvements.
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Empire second quarter 2026 conference call. At this time, all lines are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press 0 for the operator. This call is being recorded on Thursday, December 11, 2025. I would now like to turn the conference over to Katie Brian, Vice President Investor relations. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Ludy. Good morning and thank you all for joining us for our second quarter conference call. Today, we will provide summary comments on our results and then open the call for questions. This call is being recorded and the audio recording will be available on the company's website at empireco.ca. There is a short summary document outlining the points of our quarter available on our website as well.
Joining me on the call this morning are Pierre Saint Laurent, our new President and Chief
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