07:29 AM EDT, 09/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Empire Company (EMP-A.TO) on Thursday reported better than expected adjusted earnings for the first quarter, even as revenues missed, and said Fiscal 2026 is "off to a solid start".

Adjusted net profit, which excludes most one-time items, was $212 million, or $0.91 per share, compared with adjusted net profit of $219 million, or $0.90 per share in the prior year period. The result beat the consensus analyst estimate of $0.88 per share, according to FactSet.

Net earnings of $212 million or $0.91 was up versus $208 million or $0.86 a year earlier.

Quarterly sales increased 1.5% to $8.26 billion, but missed the $8.32 billion forecast. Same-store sales growth rose to 0.8% in the quarter, from 0.5% a year earlier, while food sales increased by 2.6%. Fuel sales fell by 13.7%, due to lower fuel prices caused by the removal of the government carbon tax, a statement said.

Empire opened two new FreshCo stores in Western Canada during the quarter and one after quarter-end. As at Sept. 10, FreshCo has 51 stores operating in Western Canada and expects to open another four in fiscal 2026. Empire expects to have opened 65 FreshCo stores in Western Canada over the "next several years."

The company is on track with its plan to renovate 20% to 25% of its network, a process which began in fiscal 2024 and continues through fiscal 2026. This capital investment includes sustainability initiatives such as refrigeration system upgrades and other energy efficiency initiatives. Capital spend for fiscal 2026 is expected to be $850 million. Half of this is allocated to renovations and new store expansion.

Empire will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share on Oct. 31.

"Fiscal 2026 is off to a solid start as we delivered another quarter of strong bottom line growth, the strongest quarterly earnings per share in our history, underscoring the fact our team's execution continues to improve," said Michael Medline, President & CEO, Empire.

Shares in Empire were down near 0.7% yesterday.