George Weston Q2 profit drops on weakness at Loblaw, bakery division

BUSINESS

George Weston Q2 profit drops on weakness at Loblaw, bakery division

The Canadian Press Published Tuesday, July 31, 2018 7:26AM EDT

A Loblaws store is seen Monday, March 9, 2015 in Montreal. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)

Text:

TORONTO - plunged 77.6 per cent to $28 million and adjusted earnings slipped to $210 million, below analyst estimates on both counts.

The Toronto-based grocery, pharmacy and bakery company says its net income per share dropped to 21 cents from $160 million or $1.23 per share in last year's second quarter

After excluding some items, Weston's adjusted earnings fell to $210 million or $1.63 per share for the 12 weeks ended June 16, down from $216 million or $1.63 per share a year earlier

George Weston's sales slipped to $11.2 billion, mostly from the company's Loblaw division, down 1.7 per cent from $11.4 billion in last year's second quarter. Sales at Weston Foods dropped 8.1 per cent to $468 million from $509 million.

Analysts had estimated George Weston would have $1.40 per share of net income and $1.68 per share of adjusted earnings, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

Last week, Loblaw announced that costs related to the acquisition of Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust and non-operating factors pushed down its net income by 86.1 per cent.