Q3 2026 Empire Company Ltd Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Empire Co Ltd (EMLAF) reported a solid Q3 financial performance with food sales growth of 3% and same-store sales growth of 2%.
- The company achieved an EPS of $0.72, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 16.1%, driven by strong operating performance and cost management.
- Empire Co Ltd (EMLAF) has made significant advancements in its e-commerce strategy, including a new partnership with DoorDash, expected to deliver $95 million in annualized operating income.
- The company is seeing strong momentum in its Retail Media business, with revenues growing approximately 50% since its launch in November 2024.
- Empire Co Ltd (EMLAF) continues to focus on strategic growth, planning to open more than 20 new stores in fiscal 2027, with a disciplined approach to capital allocation.
- Empire Co Ltd (EMLAF) reported a $746 million impairment charge related to its e-commerce update, impacting reported earnings.
- The company's total gross margin was flat, with a 25 basis point decline when excluding fuel, due to non-recurring minor items and business mix impacts.
- Despite improvements, the company faces ongoing challenges with food inflation, although its internal food inflation remains below CPI.
- The closure of the Calgary customer fulfillment center as part of the e-commerce restructuring indicates challenges in the current strategy.
- Empire Co Ltd (EMLAF) is still in the process of finalizing its strategy with the new executive leadership team, indicating potential uncertainties in strategic direction.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Empire Company third-quarter fiscal 2026 conference call. (Operator Instructions)
This call is being recorded on Thursday, March 12, 2026. I would now like to turn the conference over to Katie Brine, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Julie. Good morning, and thank you for joining us today for Empire's third-quarter fiscal 2026 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 St-Laurent, President and Chief Executive Officer; Costa Pefanis, Chief Financial Officer; and Luc L'Archevêque, Chief Customer Officer.
Before we begin, I would like
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