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March 1 (Reuters) - Canadian pork processor Maple Leaf Foods
Inc MFI.TO posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit
as margins in its prepared meats business improved.
Adjusted operating profit in the meat products group, which
includes brands such as Schneiders and the company's namesake
Maple Leaf brand, was C$54.6 million, compared with a year-ago
loss of C$19.1 million.
The Mississauga, Canada-based company said margins at the
business were helped partly by lower operating costs in its new
prepared meat plants and pricing.
Maple Leaf, which recently completed a restructuring program
started in 2010 to boost earnings by shutting or modernizing
factories, raised its quarterly dividend by 1 Canadian cent per
share to 9 Canadian cents per share.
Excluding items, Maple Leaf earned 25 Canadian cents per
share, beating the average analyst estimate of 21 Canadian
cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net profit was C$33.3 million ($24.6 million), or 24
Canadian cents per share, for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31,
versus a net loss of C$28.2 million, or 20 Canadian cents per
share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose nearly 10 percent to C$873.1 million in the
latest quarter.
($1 = C$1.35)