Maple Leaf Foods swings to profits in prepared meat division

Maple Leaf Foods Inc., one of Canada's largest food processors, reported a quarterly profit on strong performances from its prepared meats and bakery divisions, as it recovered from the effects of last summer's costly tainted meat recall.

Maple Leaf said Wednesday (Jul 29) it earned US$4.9-million, or 4 cents a share, for the second quarter, compared with a loss of US$9.4-million, or 7 cents per share, for the same period a year earlier.

Adjusted for the impact of restructuring and other items, the company earned 12 cents a share, compared with a loss of 1 cent.

However, revenue slipped 3 percent to US$1.32-billion due to lower volumes in its processing and prepared meats divisions and lower pork prices.

Analysts expected an average of 13 cents a share on revenue of US$1.37-billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

Last summer, contaminated deli meats from a Maple Leaf food processing plant in Toronto were linked to at least 22 deaths. After an extensive investigation, the company said it believed two slicers at the plant had been harbouring listeria bacteria.

Earlier this year it reached a tentative US$25-million settlement in a series of class-action lawsuits related to the listeriosis outbreak.