Lassonde shares financial results from the second quarter of 2021
Lassonde Industries Inc., a leader in the development, manufacture and sale of ready-to-drink juices and drinks, recently announced its second quarter results of 2021. The company’s brands include Apple & Eve, Everfresh, Fairlee, Fruité, Graves, Oasis, Old Orchard, Rougemont and Sun-Rype.
Lassonde is the largest producer of fruit juices and drinks in Canada and one of the two largest producers of store brand shelf-stable fruit juices and drinks in the United States. Lassonde, based in Quebec, is also a major producer of cranberry sauces and fruit-based snacks in the form of bars and bites. The company employs more than 2,700 people working in 17 plants across Canada and the United States.
In the second quarter of 2021, the company reported $469.3 million in sales, a 5.8% drop from a year ago. It is the second straight negative quarter for Lassonde, though its private label drink sales were up in the first quarter.
Excluding a $32.8 million unfavorable foreign exchange impact, sales were up 0.8% year over year. Lassonde’s operating profit for the second quarter of 2021 totaled $29.9 million, down $12.8 million from $42.7 million in operating profit in the same quarter last year. The 2021 second quarter profit attributable to the company's shareholders totaled $18.8 million, down $7.2 million year over year.
“Like other players in the industry, the company is facing a series of challenges such as labour scarcity, raw material availability, and inflationary pressures that are affecting transportation and input costs,” said Nathalie Lassonde, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lassonde Industries Inc. “We have gradually adjusted our selling prices to neutralize the impacts of these factors on our profitability, but further adjustments will be necessary as inflationary pressures intensify. I am confident, however, that our teams will demonstrate the agility needed to navigate such an environment and to help the company overcome these challenges.”
Lassonde’s financial expenses went from $4.5 million in the second quarter of 2020 to $2.8 million in the second quarter of 2021. This decrease was essentially due to a decrease in the interest expense on long-term debt resulting from a lower debt level. For the six month periods, financial expenses went from $9.6 million in 2020 to $5.8 million in 2021.
The company noted a slight increase in industry sales volumes in the U.S. and Canadian fruit juice and drink markets for the three-month period ended July 3, 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020, which reflected a more significant increase compared to the equivalent period in 2019. Excluding foreign exchange impacts, the company's sales were up 1.5% in the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period last year.