Dairy company Saputo has reported lower sales and earnings for its first quarter ended 30 June 2005, hit by a weak US cheese market and the appreciation of the Canadian dollar.
Net earnings were at C$54.2m (US$44.6m), compared with $58.3 m in the same period last year.
Consolidated revenues totalled $1.007bn, a decrease over the $1.019b posted one year earlier.
Revenues from our US Dairy Products Sector were negatively affected by a lower average block market per pound of cheese and the appreciation of the Canadian dollar compared to the same period last year, the company said. The decrease offset a revenue increase in our Canadian and Other Dairy Products sector resulting from increased selling prices, higher sales volumes, as well as the inclusion of the activities of Fromage Côté S.A. and Distributions Kingsey Inc., acquired on 18 April, 2005.
