North West Company earns $15M profit in 4th quarter

The North West Company is reporting a $15 million net profit in the fourth quarter ending Jan. 31, 2015, down 5.7 per cent or $0.9 million from last year.

In the same quarter, sales increased 7.6 per cent to $433.5 million.

North West Company owns Giant Tiger, NorthMart and Northern stores in Canada, as well as operations in the U.S. and the South Pacific.

Its fourth quarter report says strong sales in its Alaska Commercial and Cost-U-Less stores offset lower sales in its Canadian operations. It says gross profits were down in the Canadian side of the company's operations due to clearance of general merchandise items in its stores in Northern Canada.

The company is in the process of reducing general merchandise, fashion and electronics in those stores in favour of products and services with "higher growth potential." These items include food, financial services, furniture and motorized products.

In February, the North West Company also announced plans to spend $150 million over the next three years on its stores in Northern Canada for things such as energy efficient lighting andrefrigeration units. It also plans to increasewarehouse space for winter storage to reduce air freight costs.