Maple Leaf aims to lift plant-based profit

Article Excerpt

Despite the shift to eating at home during the pandemic, Maple Leaf Foods has stayed in a narrow range of $20 to $30 over the past five years. That’s largely due to the problems at its plant-based foods business. While a new plan should cut losses for this business, the stock will likely remain in its narrow range until profits significantly improve. MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $26 remains a hold. The company (Toronto symbol MFI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 122.0 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 3.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mapleleaffoods.com) sells fresh and prepared meats under the Maple Leaf and Schneider labels. In the past few years, Maple Leaf has acquired firms that make plant-based hamburgers, hot dogs and other protein products under the Lightlife and Field Roast brands. However, sales of plant-based products have not met Maple Leaf’s expectations. As a result, the company wrote down the value of this business by $190.9 million in 2022. In…