Construction of a new Maple Leaf Foods value-added fresh poultry plant in London, Ontario, is running behind schedule because of delays related to weather.
Speaking during a conference call highlighting the company’s financial performance for the third quarter of fiscal year 2019, Maple Leaf Foods CEO Michael H. McCain addressed the delay.
“We’ve experienced a slight delay out of the gate, due to wet spring weather, but we are full-steam ahead moving forward aggressively on construction,” McCain said during the October 30 call.
When the company announced in November 2018 that it would build the facility, it projected the construction would be completed by 2021.
McCain did not speculate on whether the company could get back on schedule. While he indicated he would like to open at its earlier scheduled timeline, but he said it is yet to be determined whether Maple Leaf Foods could do that in a cost-efficient manner.
Once the plant is in operation, Maple Leaf Food will consolidate three "sub-scale" facilities into one, McCain said. The three plants to close are in the Ontario cities of St. Marys, Tornoto and Brampton.
Controlled atmosphere stunning in place in Edmonton
McCain also said the company during the third quarter completed its transition to controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) at its poultry processing plant in Edmonton, Alberta. The quarter ended on September 30.
McCain referred to CAS as “a best practice in poultry processing.”
When the company announced its intent to implement CAS at the plant, it estimated it would invest CA$28 million (US$21.3 million) in the project, and would add 26,000 square feet of space to the plant.
Financial results for third quarter
Maple Leaf Foods’ net earnings for the third quarter of 2019 were CA$13.4 million, compared to CA$26.6 million (US$20.2 million) during the third quarter of last year.
Strong performance in prepared meats, value-added pork and poultry and plant protein, and a tax recovery from the favorable resolution of an income tax audit was more than offset by adverse pork market conditions, including heightened volatility in hog prices and the Chinese import suspension of Canadian pork, and strategic investments in plant protein to drive top line growth and market leadership, the company stated
