Canada-Maple Leaf pick up again.

CANADA-MAPLE LEAF GET BACK ON THEIR FEET.

Maple Leaf Foods on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings reflecting a $2.9 million profit but said lower margins in its packaged meats business put a damper on results.

For the quarter ended March 31, the Toronto-based processor netted earnings of $2.9 million, or 2 cents per diluted share, compared with a loss of $10 million, or 0 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

"Results in the first quarter were overshadowed by depressed margins in our packaged meat operations, as we continue to recover from the major product recall last year," CEO Michael McCain said in a statement.

Maple Leaf noted earnings from operations before restructuring and other related costs and income decreased by 4.5 percent to $31.6 million on declines in packaged meat earnings, which were mitigated by restructuring the company’s pork processing and production and price hikes across its bakery unit.

First-quarter operating income in the meat products segment declined to $11.4 million, from $25 million last year. Margins in packaged meats decreased significantly due to volume recovery efforts following last year’s recall, the company said.

Revenue rose to $1.3 billion in the quarter, compared with $1.2 billion last year. The company cited price increases and favorable currency changes on fresh meat sales.

"Although we are in the midst of a deep global recession, our product portfolio delivers good value at reasonable prices," McCain said. "As our business has stabilized, we are now focused on sustaining the volume recovery, improving margins and realizing higher growth rates in our core categories."