(Montreal) Sollio Cooperative Group returned to profitability in 2023 while Olymel’s activities returned to positive territory, despite losses in the pork sector.
The cooperative which owns the food processor Olymel, but also the hardware retailer BMR, posted a surplus of 115.4 million during the financial year ended October 28. This compares to a loss of 336.9 million in the same period last year. The improvement in profitability comes despite a decrease in sales, which fell from 8.4 billion to 8.3 billion.
“After two years which were particularly difficult financially, our coop returned to profitability in 2023,” comments the CEO, Pascal Houle, at a press conference on Thursday, on the sidelines of the annual meeting. […] It’s a remarkable turnaround. »
This recovery is attributable to the food division (Olymel) which is returning to profitability. The division posts a surplus of 138.3 million in 2023 compared to a loss of 446.1 million in 2022, according to results released Thursday.
The pork sector, where Olymel dominates 80% of the processing industry, remains in a difficult situation. This segment is still in deficit.
The difficult context led Olymel to close factories. The cooperative and Les Éleveurs de porcs du Québec entered into a price reduction agreement last spring. Quebec also allocated 80 million to finance a voluntary withdrawal program intended for breeders and thus reduce production.
The industry remains in a difficult position, responded the president and CEO of Olymel, Yanick Gervais. “People (producers) are tired, there have been some extremely difficult years. »
The leader, however, wanted to emphasize that there were improvements. “We are seeing a drop in grain prices. The value of the carcass increases. That’s still very good news. This could represent between $30, $40 or $50 more in terms of income on the farm for the next few months. »
The economic slowdown has also eaten into surpluses at BMR. The hardware retailer posts a net surplus of 34.5 million in 2023, compared to 41 million the previous year.
The CEO of BMR, Alexandre Lefebvre, explained that the hardware retailer was experiencing a slowdown in activities after “the splendor of the pandemic”.
“The division had to deal with a more difficult economic situation, marked in particular by a historic decrease in housing starts, a high rate of household debt, as well as rising interest rates and inflation. abnormally high that we have been experiencing for several months. »
The cooperative also highlighted that long-term debt had fallen by more than half to 571.5 million at the end of the 2023 financial year.