But profits in other countries still boosted the overall
bottom line by 7.3 per cent from $144 for the third quarter last year to $154.6
million this year.
Revenues increased by 20 per cent to $2.8 billion.
But the profit on Canadian operations declined by 12 per
cent.
Another factor in the disappointing Canadian results is a
delay in opening of a new distribution centre in the Montreal
area.
Saputo singled out Agropur for leading
the price war, but but said Parmalat is also involved.
"You wonder where the end game is.
If you're not making money can you really invest in your business so is that good
for consumers, I don't know," he said, adding he hopes the battle will
soon end.
He said supply management means there is
little opportunity to grow, other than by taking market share from competitors.
Strange, but did Saputo not increase its market share through aggressive pricing? And does it not benefit greatly from supply management that provided a lucrative home base to finance purchases in other countries?
