Empire Co Ltd, the owner of Canadian grocery chain Sobeys Inc, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, boosted by its acquisition of the Canadian assets of U.S. supermarket chain Safeway Inc. Empire's shares, which have rallied in the run-up to the results, were down 2 percent at C$83.72 in midday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It reached a record high of C$86.49 earlier in the session.