Net income during the same period of the previous year was C$126.6 million, or C$0.62 per share. The company said the earnings decline was due to unfavorable market factors of approximately $14 million in the United States and an inventory write-down in its Argentinean business unit.
Sales during the first quarter were C$1,698.3 million ($1,694.22 million), which compared with C$1,639 million during the first quarter of 2012.
Saputo said a better dairy ingredients product mix and the impact of increased sales volumes in its Canadian division helped offset some of the earnings decline. In addition, the weakening of the Canadian dollar compared to the U.S. dollar positively affected earnings when compared with the same period fiscal 2012.
