By Dave Sebastian
George Weston Ltd. said its profit and sales for the latest quarter rose, driven by gains at its Loblaw Cos. Ltd. unit, though disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic continued.
The Canadian food processing and distribution company on Tuesday posted third-quarter earnings of 1.96 Canadian dollars ($1.50) a share, compared with C$0.44 a share in the comparable quarter last year.
Adjusted earnings were C$2.35 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting adjusted earnings of C$2 a share.
Revenue rose to C$16.21 billion from C$15.23 billion in the prior year. The company incurred about C$93 million in Covid-19-related costs for safety and security measures.
Loblaw revenue rose 6.9% to C$15.67 billion, driven by retail sales. At Choice Properties, which collected close to 98% of rents for the quarter, revenue fell 4.6% to C$309 million due to the foregone revenue from sold properties. Weston Foods sales fell 7.2% to C$592 million due to a decrease in volumes in certain retail categories and foodservice channels amid the pandemic.
"After a very challenging second quarter, Weston Foods experienced an improvement in foodservice sales and better service levels and manufacturing efficiency, all while continuing to advance its transformation program," Chairman and Chief Executive Galen Weston said.
Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-17-20 0637ET
