Empire Company Ltd., owners of Sobey’s, Freshco and Foodland supermarkets, took a $32-million hit from a cyber attack in November and has reported fourth-quarter profits of $125.7 million compared with the same third-quarter results of $203.4 million last year.
Last year’s profit included a big gain on real estate.
The company said shoppers have shifted to lower-priced items because inflation of about 11 per cent on groceries is pinching budgets.
