Business

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Winpak wraps up best fourth quarter in its history

By: Murray McNeill

Posted: 02/17/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

A WINNIPEG plastic-packaging manufacturer stuck it to the global recession last year, posting the best fourth-quarter and annual results in its 32-year history.

Winpak Ltd. rang up a 45.9 per cent increase in its annual profit for 2009, and a 28.1 per cent increase in its fourth -quarter net earnings, according to financial figures issued Tuesday.

"There are not many companies in the world, in our business, that racked up those kind of numbers," Winpak president and CEO Bruce Berry said in an interview after releasing the company's 2009 year-end results.

Berry said while the recession did have some impact on the company, which operates nine production plants in Canada and the United States, it was minimal.

"I wouldn't say we're recession-proof. We're recession-resistant," he said, noting one of the company's strengths is that the bulk of its packaging materials are used for perishable items people buy during both good and bad economic times -- things like meat and dairy products. It just may be for different kinds of meat and dairy products.

"I like to say that when times are good, we sell more packaging for steaks," Berry said, "and when times are bad we sell more packaging for hotdogs."

The financial figures show Winpak had a profit of $42.9 million, or 66 cents a share, for the fiscal year ended Dec. 27. That compared with a profit of $29.4 million, or 45 cents a share, in fiscal 2008. Winpak reports its results in US dollars.

And in the fourth quarter alone, its profit was $11.4 million, or 18 cents a share, compared with $8.9 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier.

The company was also able to boost its profit in spite of a 1.2 per cent dip in sales in 2009 -- $506 million versus $510 million in the previous year, the figures show.

Berry and vice-president and chief financial officer Ken Kuchma said a number of factors contributed to the strong showing, including cost-cutting, lower raw-material costs, and the installation of new equipment and technologies, which helped to boost productivity and improve operating efficiencies.

-- Murray McNeill

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 17, 2010 B5

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