High milk costs weigh on Saputo

Article Excerpt

SAPUTO INC. $32 (Toronto symbol SAP; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 392.9 million; Market cap: $12.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.saputo.com) reported that its sales rose 3.4% in its fiscal 2016 second quarter, which ended September 30, 2015, to $2.8 billion from $2.7 billion a year earlier. The U.S., Australia and Argentina supply 65% of its sales, and the lower Canadian dollar added $292 million to the latest quarter’s sales. However, lower selling prices for cheese and butter cut sales by $229 million. Earnings fell 2.6%, to $0.38 a share from $0.39. That’s mainly due to higher costs for milk, the main ingredient in Saputo’s dairy products, at its international operations. Saputo is still a hold. hold…