Bread-fixing settlement delivers $253-million hit to George Weston

George Weston Ltd. WN-T says a recent settlement it reached in the bread price-fixing class actions it faced had a $253 million impact on its second-quarter net earnings.

The company, which holds a majority interest in grocer Loblaw Cos. Ltd., says its net earnings amounted to $667 million in the period ended June 15. That compared with net earnings of $782 million a year earlier.

Its net earnings attributable to shareholders totalled $410 million compared with $508 million a year before.

Revenue for the quarter amounted to about $14 billion, up from $13.8 billion a year prior.

The bulk of that revenue, more than $13 billion, came from Loblaw, which George Weston says saw an increase in retail sales recently. Its Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust also saw a jump in revenue because of higher rental rates and the completion of acquisitions and developments.

The bread-fixing class-action cases alleged defendants including George Weston and Loblaw conspired to fix the price of packaged bread in Canada. Loblaw agreed to a $252.5 million settlement.