Our food sellers better handle inflation

Article Excerpt

Statistics Canada recently reported that food prices in Canada rose 10.8% on an annual basis. That’s mainly because food producers are raising their selling prices to offset higher costs for ingredients, transportation and labour. We feel the best way to profit from higher food prices is with major retailers such as Loblaw. That retail giant’s large scale lets it negotiate bulk discounts from food producers like Maple Leaf Foods and Saputo. That helps protect its profit margins. LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $108 is a buy. The retail giant (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 327.7 million; Market cap: $35.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) is Canada’s largest food store operator, with 1,091 supermarkets. Those stores operate under a variety of banners including Loblaws, Zehrs, Provigo, Real Canadian Superstore and No Frills. Franchisees operate about half the locations. The company’s investors also continue to benefit from its March 2014 acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart for $12.3 billion in…