Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Maple Leaf’s profits soar

Maple Leaf Foods’ profits soared by 70 per cent to $31.8 million for the third quarter of its fiscal year.

Sales increased by 4.1 per cent to $862 million.

Company president and chief executive officer Michael McCain said it’s further evidence that the company’s major restructurings are paying off.

Now he says the focus will be on cutting costs and “expanding our geographic footprint,” which might mean more sales to the United States and perhaps Europe.

The agribusiness division continued to lose money, mainly because of lower hog prices. The loss was $4.4 million for t he quarter compared with a profit of $1.6 million last year.

Among the changes Maple Leaf has made are:

-Selling its bread and bakery business to Bimbo Bakery of Mexico.
-Closing most of its meat-processing plants, including the Schneider plant in Kitchener, to consolidate operations in a new facility in Hamilton.
-Selling its Rothsay Concentrates rendering business.
-Selling its Shur Gain and Landmark Feeds business.
-Selling its turkey processing plant at Thamesford and its turkey farms and quota.