Empire Co. Ltd., owner of supermarket chains such as Sobeys, Farm Boy, IGA and Freshco, reported a three per cent increase in sales and a profit of 173 million compared with $149 million for the same fourth quarter last year.
Sales totalled $7.6 billion.
The company said its chains took market share from competitors. Loblaws is Canada’s biggest chain, Metro is third-largest and Costco and Walmart are significant competitors. Empire ranks second.
On-line sales via Voila increased by more than 80 per cent during the quarter after a partnership with Ocado Group PLC was ended and new partnerships were struck with Instacart and Uber Eats.