Saputo shares drop after financial results fall short of expectations

MONTREAL – Shares in Saputo Inc. (TSX:SAP) fell in trading Thursday after the company reported weaker-than-expected results for its latest quarter.

The dairy processor says it earned $165.2 million or 42 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31 compared with a profit of $141.2 million or 36 cents per share a year ago.

Revenue for what was Saputo’s fourth quarter totalled nearly $2.72 billion compared with just over $2.73 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.

Analysts had expected on average the company to earn 48 cents per share on revenue of $2.92 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

For the full year, Saputo earned $731.1 million or $1.84 per diluted share on $11.16 billion in revenue. That compared with a profit of $601.4 million or $1.51 per diluted share on $10.99 billion in revenue in the previous year.

Saputo shares were down $3.60 or about eight per cent at $41.50 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday afternoon.