Sobeys parent’s profit, sales up as online service expands

Grocer’s second-quarter earnings miss expectations as Voilà prepares to enter Alberta

Empire Co. Ltd. reported its secondquarter profit and sales rose compared with a year ago as it announced plans to expand its Voilà online grocery service to Alberta.

The company behind the Sobeys grocery store chain says it will launch Voilà curbside pickup service in

lberta next year before starting home delivery service from a new customer fulfilment centre to be built in Calgary in 2023.

“We are now ready and well positioned to take the next meaningful step forward in our plans to win the e-commerce battle in Canada,” said Michael Medline, Empire’s president and CEO.

The announcement came as Empire reported a profit of $161.4 million or 60 cents per share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, missing analysts’ expectations.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 65 cents per share for the quarter and $6.93 billion in sales, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.

The second-quarter result compared