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Canadian companies SunOpta Inc (TSX:SOY) and Maple Leaf Foods Inc (TSX:MFI), which operate in the plant-based food industry, released their earnings report for the first quarter of 2021 on Wednesday, May 12.
Plant-based food and meat products have witnessed a spike in demand over the last few years. According to research platform Statista, as many as 2.3 million Canadians reported following a vegetarian diet in 2018, while 850,000 people identified vegans.
With this trend of vegetarian and vegan lifestyles expected to grow, many companies have started focusing on developing plant-based foods and beverages. Let’s glance through SunOpta and Maple Leaf Foods’ recent performances to see how their plant-based food operations have fared.
SunOpta Inc (TSX:SOY)
The Brampton-based company is a producer of natural and organic food and beverages. In Q1 2021, SunOpta's revenue from plant-based products soared by 12.4 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to US$ 119.5 million.
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SunOpta’s gross profit also increased to US$ 29.98 million in Q1 2021, up from US$ 27.2 million in Q1 2020. The worth of its total current assets, meanwhile, increased to US$ 279.9 million and its cash and cash equivalents stood at US$ 0.754 million in the latest quarter.
At market close on Tuesday, May 11, SunOpta shares closed at C$ 13.54 apiece, down from a 52-week high of C$ 21.63 (February 11, 2021). The stock swelled by 45 per cent in the past six months and jumped 178.6 per cent over the past year.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc (TSX:MFI)
Canadian packaged meats company Maple Leaf Foods also offers plant-based protein products and owns a few vegan food brands. In Q1 2021, Maple Leaf's total sales surged by three per cent YoY to C$ 1,053.1 million. Its sales from the plant protein group amounted to C$ 42.6 million in the same period.
Compared to a loss of C$ 3.7 million in Q1 2020, Maple's net earnings stood at C$ 47.7 million in Q1 2021. Its basic earnings per share amounted to C$ 0.39 in the latest quarter, as compared to a loss of C$ 0.03 in Q1 2020.
In the past quarter, the stock grew by five per cent. Maple Leaf’s one-year stock price growth, at 0.04 per cent, outperformed the TSX 300 Composite Index in comparison.
The above constitutes a preliminary view and any interest in stocks should be evaluated further from an investment point of view.
