Hidden Assets at a Bargain Price

Article Excerpt

Maple Leaf Foods now owns 89.8% of subsidiary Canada Bread. Despite Canada Bread’s recent drop due to lower second-quarter earnings, it still accounts for a high 98% of Maple Leaf’s market value. That means you can buy Maple Leaf’s core meat processing business, which provides 70% of its total sales, for less than $0.30 a share. We feel Maple Leaf’s meat businesses and brands have a lot of enduring value. The recent cost-cutting plan should also improve the profitability of these operations. MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $11 (Toronto symbol MFI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 126.9 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; SI Rating: Average) 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. Maple Leaf is currently in the middle of major restructuring that will see it focus on more-profitable packaged meats…