maple leaf foods
Toronto symbol MFI, is Canada’s largest food processing company. Its products include fresh and prepared meats and poultry, mostly under the Maple Leaf and Schneider brands. It also makes fresh and frozen bakery products through 89.8%-owned Canada Bread Co. Ltd.
ARBOR MEMORIAL SERVICES INC. $20 (Toronto symbol ABO.A; SI Rating: Average) earned $0.42 a share in its first fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2006, down 2.3% from $0.43 a year earlier. Revenue grew 5.6%, partly due to last year’s acquisition of an Ottawa-based funeral home operator. It’s also earning more investment income from cemetery pre-payments and deposits. Arbor Memorial Services is a buy for aggressive investors. MAVERICK TUBE CORP. $45 (New York symbol MVK; SI Rating: Extra risk) plans to spend $10.4 million to expand its tubular goods finishing facilities in Calgary (all amounts in U.S. dollars). That’s about 16.5% of the $63.2 million or $1.54 a share that it earned in the three months ended December 31, 2005. Demand for new pipelines is growing strongly, and this expansion should quickly pay off....
MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $15 (Toronto symbol MFI; SI Rating: Average) has opened Canada’s first commercial biodiesel plant near Montreal. This facility converts animal fats and recycled cooking oils into a fuel that can power current diesel engines. Right now, the main customers for this product are mass transit systems and cruise ship lines. But the market for biodiesel is expanding, since it’s less toxic and easier to handle than regular diesel fuel. It also emits fewer harmful emissions. Maple Leaf’s stock has stayed in a narrow range in the past few months, as lower prices for some meat products have hurt its revenue growth. Fears of stronger competition from rival hog processing firms have also put pressure on the stock. But Maple Leaf’s acquisition of Schneider Corp. in 2004 should help it hang on to its leading market share. Maple Leaf Foods is a buy.