George Weston Q1 profit up 26 per cent to $131M on price increases, cost cutting
- Food producer and Loblaw (TSX:L) parent George Weston Ltd. (TSX:WN) reported Tuesday a first-quarter profit of $131 million, up 26 per cent from a year-earlier $104 million on price increases and cost reductions.
The Toronto-based company said its earnings amounted to 91 cents per share, compared with 70 cents per share in the first quarter of 2007.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected earnings of 69 cents per share.
Its Loblaw grocery chain is on track in its turnaround plan but "lags behind as an effective selling operation," the company acknowledged in discussion of its earnings.
It also warned that the Weston Foods division "is experiencing unprecedented cost pressure as the prices of flour and other input items continue to escalate," though price changes, a shift in sales mix and cost reductions allowed it to record positive operating income growth.
Sales for the period ended March 22 ticked up 1.6 per cent to $7.34 billion from $7.2 billion in the year-earlier period, foreign currency translation negatively impacting growth by about 1.6 per cent.
George Weston shares were up 20 cents at $49.20 in early trading at the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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