12:48 PM EDT, 10/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Maple Leaf Foods is expected to report third quarter results on November 13. National Bank is projecting third quarter EPS of $0.22 versus consensus at $0.24. Last year was $0.13.
Analyst Vishal Shreedhar's expectation for third quarter EPS improvement reflects higher sales and gross margin rate expansion, partly offset by higher SG&A (increased advertising and promotion), and higher interest expense. He is also modeling third quarter gross margin expansion of 240 bps, reflecting an improvement in the pork complex, remaining benefits from MFI's major capital projects, and favourable mix (reduced sales into the lower margin commodities market).
Maintain Outperform rating; price target is $28.