Sollio Cooperative Group, parent company of meat processor Olymel, says it’s back in the black after a period of losses led to closures and cut-backs.
“Not only have we restored profitability, but the trend we see for the coming years is encouraging,” said Pascale Houle, Sollio’s CEO in a Feb. 29 news release.
Sollio’s food division, Olymel, saw the greatest turnaround in 2023, the company said. It ended the year with a surplus of $138.3 million after a loss of $446.1 million in 2022.
The company said it achieved this via improved performance in fresh pork, reduced slaughter volume, consolidating plants and distribution centres, disposing of “non-strategic assets,” recruiting foreign workers to offset local labour shortages and focusing on value-added products.
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Resumption of exports in some markets also boosted profits, the company said in the news release.
In 2023, Olymel dialed back hog production in Alberta and Saskatchewan and shuttered several processing plants in Ontario and Quebec, including at Vallee-Jonction, Sainte-Hyacinthe and Princeville.
Sollio’s annual report indicated that the number of hogs slaughtered declined, as did market share in Quebec.
The company said it saw sales of about $4.71 billion in 2023, up from $4.60 billion in 2022, it said in its annual report.
Exports to China decreased, due to more value-added production, the report said. Volumes of chilled pork shipped to Japan declined slightly as well.
“The launch of these same products in Canada was a great success,” the report said.
In the west, the company said it benefited from full access to the Chinese market. This partially explained an increase in sales, it said.
Sollio reported record profits in its bacon sector, and a decline in its poultry sector.
Olymel’s market share for turkey declined in 2023, the report said. Bird quality has been an issue, the company said, including with cysts in male birds.
“It appears that the production volumes in 2024 will have a negative effect on our results, amid increased imports of turkey meat from Chile,” the annual report said.
Further processed poultry produced higher margins in 2023 compared to 2022, with higher selling prices offsetting lower volumes sold.
