TORONTO (Reuters) – Maple Leaf Foods returned to profit in the third quarter on strong performances at its bakery and prepared meat divisions as it recovered from the effects of a costly tainted meat recall last year.
The company earned $22.5 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $12.9 million in the same period a year earlier, when it was reeling from the effects of the deadly meat scandal.
Revenue slipped four percent to $1.3 billion due to lower fresh meat prices.
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Canada Bread, Maple Leaf’s bakery division, said it earned $25.1 million, up from $19.7 million for the same period a year earlier.
“It looks like they have put the listeria crisis behind them,” said Robert Gibson, an analyst at Octagon Capital.
“It’s business as usual for them.”
Contaminated deli meats from a Maple Leaf food processing plant in Toronto were linked to at least 20 deaths in 2008.
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 $25 million settlement in a series of class-action lawsuits related to the listeriosis outbreak.
However, two months ago the company recalled nine wiener products produced under three of its brands at its plant in Hamilton, Ont., saying they may have contained traces of listeria bacteria.
The August 2008 listeria outbreak also prompted Canada to upgrade its food inspection system and hire more inspectors at a cost of about $75 million.
