04Aug2010

Saputo Reports Earnings up 31.4%

But in first quarter ended June 30, revenues dip 0.7%

 ï‚· Net earnings for the quarter totalled $111.4 million, an increase of $26.6 million or 31.4% compared to $84.8 million for the same quarter last fiscal year, according to Montreal-based Saputo.

 ï‚· Earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA1) amounted to $190.8 million, an increase of $32.3 million or 20.4% in comparison to $158.5 million for the same quarter last fiscal year.

 ï‚· Revenues for the quarter amounted to $1.436 billion, a decrease of $10.3 million or 0.7% in comparison to $1.446 billion for the corresponding quarter last fiscal year.

 ï‚· Basic earnings per share (EPS) was $0.54 and diluted EPS was $0.53 for the quarter, as compared to $0.41 for both basic and diluted EPS for the corresponding quarter last fiscal year.

 1 Measurement of results not in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

The Company assesses its financial performance based on its EBITDA, this being earnings before interest, depreciation, amortization and income taxes. EBITDA is not a measure of performance as defined by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in Canada, and consequently may not be comparable to similar measurements presented by other companies.

2 “Average block market” is the average daily price of a 40 pound block of cheddar traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), used as the base price for cheese.

(in millions of Canadian dollars (CDN), except per share amounts)		For the three-month periods ended
(unaudited)	June 30, 2010	June 30, 2009	March 31, 2010
Revenues	1,436.1	1,446.4	1,384.2
EBITDA	190.8	158.5	175.5
Net earnings	111.4	84.8	99.1
EPS
Basic	0.54	0.41	0.48
Diluted	0.53	0.41	0.47