SWP Declares First Quarter Loss

REGINA - Dec 14/04 - SNS -- The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (SWP) lost CDN $15.63 million on revenue of $228.706 million during the first quarter of the 2004-05 fiscal year, which ended on October 31. This compares to a loss of $9.806 million on revenue of $283.385 million during the same quarter last year.

The pool blamed this year's delayed harvest for the results. "(L)ast year's harvest was virtually complete by the end of August, allowing for fall fieldwork to be completed. In addition, the quality of the crop was significantly better last year, leading to margin enhancement opportunities in the grain business earlier in the year," the company said.

The SWP's Agri-products segment generated sales of $52 million compared to $59 million in the first quarter of last year. The primary reason for the decline related to the impact of weather on the timing of post-harvest fieldwork. By the end of August last year, the harvest was virtually complete and the dry fall allowed farmers to apply fertilizer, which drove significant anhydrous ammonia sales in the first quarter. This year, farmers continued to harvest throughout the quarter and most post-harvest fieldwork was delayed into the second quarter.

The Agri-food Processing segment generated sales for the quarter of $31 million similar to the previous year's first quarter.

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