(Reuters) —Maple Leaf Foods Inc. has reported a 70.4 percent jump in quarterly profit as lower costs and higher prices boosted earnings.
Maple Leaf said adjusted operating earnings in its meat products unit more than doubled to $65.93 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30.
The company’s net earnings rose to $31.83 million from $18.68 million a year earlier.
Maple Leaf recently completed a program started in 2010 to boost earnings by shutting some plants and modernizing others.
In a conference call with analysts, president Michael McCain emphasized the company’s commitment to what he called “sustainable meat.”
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“We are increasingly excited about sustainable meat as a core growth platform for Maple Leaf, and you will be hearing lots more about this as we ramp up our differentiation and our growth in this expanding market,” he said
Maple Leaf is the leading provider of pork raised without antibiotics in North America, he added, and is the leader antibiotic-free chicken in Canada.
“(A) significant and growing segment of consumers is looking for better meat from animals raised with care, continuous reductions in environmental impact with more nutrition and health benefits, and from companies that demonstrate a greater, societal conscious,” he said.
