It’s no surprise that Saskatchewan Wheat Pool officials described last year’s financial results in positive, optimistic terms, says a grain industry analyst.
“That’s their job,” said David Schroeder of Dominion Bond Rating Service.
“They’ve got to do that.”
But as far as he’s concerned, the company’s earnings were disappointing.
“We expected a better bottom line, based on what was on budget and what we were told in the spring,” he said.
“Some areas were on par with budget, but others were below.”
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The pool has reported a net loss of $44.1 million for the 2000-01 fiscal year, which included $26.9 million in costs associated with restructuring and the sale of assets.
Pool chief executive officer Mayo Schmidt said he was pleased with the performance given the state of the grain economy.
Schroeder said one big concern is the pool’s 21 percent share of the western Canadian grain market in 2001, down from 24 percent the previous year.
“We were a little bit surprised at how low the market share had slipped,” he said, adding the pool told DBRS in February it had stabilized at around 24 percent.
Hugh Wagner, general secretary of the Grain Services Union, said one thing the pool can do to improve its market share is invest more money in its workforce to improve customer service.
“Right now they’re operating on a bare-bones system,” he said.
“They can’t afford to cut any further.”
