The North West Company Inc. Announces First Quarter Earnings and a Quarterly Dividend

Press Release

Winnipeg, Manitoba, June 9, 2026 (TSX: NWC): The North West Company Inc. (the “Company” or “North West”) today reported its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended April 30, 2026. It also announced that the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 to shareholders of record on June 30, 2026, to be paid on July 15, 2026.

“This quarter reflects the strength and resilience of our business, particularly in our International Operations where we delivered solid same-store sales growth. While our Canadian Operations performance faced expected headwinds following the sunset of the Inuit Child First Initiative food voucher program, our team remained focused on execution and finding efficiencies within our business. Our Next 100 work contributed to an improvement in gross profit rate through refinement of our merchandise assortments, including expanding our private label offering, that are delivering value to customers. These factors, combined with an asset disposition gain, drove an increase in earnings in the quarter. These results underscore our ability to adapt and deliver performance even in a shifting economic environment”, said Dan McConnell, President & CEO. “Looking ahead, we are mindful of external pressures, including the impact of rising fuel costs, and the evolving pace of government infrastructure investments and settlement payments in the communities we serve. While near-term variability in these factors may impact results, we remain confident in our long-term strategy, the fundamentals of our business, and our ability to create sustainable value.”

Financial Highlights

Sales First quarter consolidated sales decreased 1.5% to $631.6 million compared to $641.4 million last year due to the impact of foreign exchange on the translation of International Operations sales and a decrease in Canadian Operations sales. Sales excluding the foreign exchange impact decreased 0.4%, with food sales increasing 0.3% and general merchandise and other sales decreasing 2.5% compared to last year. Sales were negatively impacted by the closure of a Northern store in Fond du Lac, Saskatchewan as lease renewal terms could not be agreed upon prior to the expiration of the lease and the sale of a Cost-U-Less (“CUL”) store in Chalan Pago, Guam in advance of the expected opening of a new CUL store in Agana, Guam in the third quarter this year. Same store sales increased 1.2%¹ compared to a 3.5%¹ increase in the first quarter last year as a 4.3%¹ gain in same store sales in International Operations was partially offset by a 0.9% decrease in same store sales in Canadian Operations which were negatively impacted by a decrease in funding to individuals from Inuit Child First and Jordan’s Principle programs.

Gross Profit Gross profit increased 0.6% to $215.3 million compared to $214.0 million last year due to a 72 basis point increase in gross profit rate. The increase in the gross profit rate is due to the positive impact from our Next 100 work, including refinements of our merchandise assortment and procurement. Changes in sales blend, including lower wholesale food sales, was also a factor. These factors were partially offset by higher markdowns and inventory shrink compared to last year, partially due to challenging weather conditions in northern markets which contributed to merchandise transportation delays.

Selling, Operating and Administrative Expenses Selling, operating and administrative expenses (“Expenses”) decreased $1.7 million or 1.0% compared to last year but were up 14 basis points as a percentage to sales. The decrease in Expenses is primarily due to a $3.8 million gain on the sale of the CUL Chalan Pago store combined with a $2.2 million decrease in share-based compensation costs primarily related to changes in the Company’s share price in the quarter compared to last year. The impact of $1.9 million in one-time costs for professional fees related to the execution of the Next 100 strategy were more than offset by the Next 100 gross profit factors previously noted. Excluding the impact of the Chalan Pago-related gain, share-based compensation and Next 100-related one-time costs, Expenses increased $4.5 million or 2.7% compared to last year and were up 111 basis points as a percentage to sales mainly due to higher staff costs and other inflationary cost increases. An increase in depreciation and higher utility costs due to unseasonably cold weather in northern markets were also factors.

Earnings From Operations and EBITDA Earnings from operations (“EBIT”) increased $3.0 million or 7.5% to $43.4 million compared to $40.3 million last year, and earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA²“) increased $4.1 million or 5.8% to $74.2 million compared to $70.1 million last year due to the sales, gross profit and Expense factors previously noted. Adjusted EBITDA², which excludes the impact of the Chalan Pago-related gain, share-based compensation and Next 100 one-time costs, decreased 2.7% to $75.8 million compared to $78.0 million last year and as a percentage to sales was 12.0% compared to 12.2% last year mainly due to the impact of lower sales in Canadian Operations and higher Expenses.

Interest Expense Interest expense increased $0.3 million or 8.5% to $4.2 million mainly due to changes in average debt compared to last year.

Income Tax Expense Income tax expense increased to $9.9 million compared to $8.7 million last year due to the impact of higher earnings and an increase in the effective tax rate to 25.3% compared to 23.9% last year. The increase in the effective tax rate is largely due to the blend of earnings across the various tax rate jurisdictions and changes in tax estimates.

Net Earnings Net earnings increased 5.4% to $29.2 million compared to net earnings of $27.7 million last year. Net earnings attributable to shareholders were $27.3 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.56 per share compared to $0.53 per share last year. Adjusted net earnings², which excludes the after-tax impact of the Chalan Pago-related gain, share-based compensation and Next 100 one-time costs, decreased $3.3 million or 9.9% to $30.3 million due to the sales, gross profit, Expense, interest and income tax expense factors previously noted.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company uses the following non-GAAP financial measures: earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net earnings. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to both management and investors in measuring the financial performance and financial condition of the Company for the reasons outlined below.

Earnings Before Interest, Income Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“EBITDA”) is not a recognized measure under IFRS. Management believes that in addition to net earnings, EBITDA is a useful supplemental measure as it provides investors with an indication of the Company’s operational performance before allocating the cost of interest, income taxes and capital investments. Investors should be cautioned however, that EBITDA should not be construed as an alternative to net earnings determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Company’s performance. The Company’s method of calculating EBITDA may differ from other companies and may not be comparable to measures used by other companies.

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Earnings are not recognized measures under IFRS. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures to exclude the impact of certain income and expenses that must be recognized under IFRS. The excluded amounts are either subject to volatility in the Company’s share price or may not necessarily be reflective of the Company’s underlying operating performance. These factors can make comparisons of the Company’s financial performance between periods more difficult. The Company may exclude additional items if it believes that doing so will result in a more effective analysis and explanation of the underlying financial performance. The exclusion of these items does not imply that they are non-recurring.

These measures do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and therefore they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other publicly traded companies and should not be construed as an alternative to the other financial measures determined in accordance with IFRS.

Reconciliation of consolidated earnings from operations (EBIT) to EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA:

($ in thousands)    First Quarter     2026               2025

Earnings from operations (EBIT)	$	43,352	$	40,316
Add:  Amortization		30,806		29,747
EBITDA	$	74,158	$	70,063
Adjusted for:
Share-based compensation expense (1)		3,618		5,789
The Next 100 one-time costs (2)		1,873		2,115
Gain on store disposal (3)		(3,800)		—
Adjusted EBITDA	$	75,849	$	77,967

Reconciliation of consolidated net earnings to adjusted net earnings:

($ in thousands)   First Quarter    2026               2025

Net earnings	$	29,230	$	27,744
Adjusted for:
Share-based compensation expense, net of tax (1)		2,660		4,301
The Next 100 one-time costs, net of tax (2)		1,377		1,544
Gain on store disposal, net of tax (3)		(3,002)		—
Adjusted net earnings	$	30,265	$	33,589

• Certain share-based compensation costs are presented as liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The Company is exposed to market price fluctuations in its share price through these share-based compensation costs. These liabilities are recorded at fair value at each reporting date based on the market price of the Company’s shares at the end of each reporting period with the changes in fair value recorded in selling, operating and administrative expenses.
• The Next 100 one-time costs include professional fees and other non-recurring expenses incurred in the implementation of the Next 100 work outlined in the Strategies section of the 2026 first quarter Report to Shareholders.
• The Company sold its CUL store in Chalan Pago, Guam in advance of the expected opening of a new CUL store in Hagåtña (“Agana”), Guam in the third quarter of 2026.

Further information on the financial results is available in the Company’s 2026 first quarter Report to Shareholders, Management’s Discussion and Analysis and unaudited interim period condensed consolidated financial statements which can be found in the investor section of the Company’s website at www.northwest.ca.

First Quarter Conference Call

North West will host a conference call for its first quarter results on June 10, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. (Central Time).

Conference call link: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIae02649ff0fb42dfb15f14c8f5329911

Register ahead of time to receive a unique PIN to access the conference call via telephone. Once registered, participants can dial into the conference call from their telephone via the unique PIN or click on the “Call Me” option to receive an automated call directly on their telephone.

Webcast link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/ngsjcrb3/

The conference call will be archived and available until June 10, 2027 at https://www.northwest.ca/investors/conference-calls

Company Profile

The North West Company Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading retailer of food and everyday products and services to rural communities and urban neighbourhoods in Canada, Alaska, the South Pacific and the Caribbean. North West operates 228 stores under the trading names Northern, NorthMart, Giant Tiger, Alaska Commercial Company, Cost-U-Less and RiteWay Food Markets and has annualized sales of approximately CDN$2.6 billion.

The common shares of North West trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NWC.

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For more information contact:

Dan McConnell, President and Chief Executive Officer, The North West Company Inc.
Phone 204-934-1482; fax 204-934-1317; email dmcconnell@northwest.ca

John King, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, The North West Company Inc.
Phone 204-934-1397; fax 204-934-1317; email jking@northwest.ca

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