MONTREAL — Pork producer Olymel LP and its parent organization, Sollio Cooperative Group, recently released financial results for the fiscal year 2023, which showed an improvement in its food division.

Sollio Food (Olymel) posted a net surplus of C$138.3 million ($101.8 million) recorded last year, compared to a loss of C$446.1 million ($328.5 million) in 2022.

The company stated that it achieved the turnaround due to improvement in the performance of the fresh pork industry, reducing its slaughter volume, consolidating plants and distribution centers, disposing of non-strategic assets, recruiting foreign workers to offset local labor shortages and focusing on value-added products.

The financial report also said that resumption of exports in some markets helped with higher profits.

“Not only have we restored profitability, but the trend we see for the coming years is encouraging. We’ve spent the past few years implementing an ambitious, necessary and realistic recovery plan, and it’s paying off,” said Pascal Houle, chief executive officer of Sollio Cooperative Group.

Even with the significant improvements from a financial position, Sollio stated that the pork industry remains under pressure going into 2024 and did reach profitability in 2023.

“The pork industry is in a major crisis around the world,” Houle said. “We all want a strong, dynamic pork sector. That is the goal of the robust recovery plan we implemented in this sector, a sector driven by people who put their heart into their work and play a major role in the economic development of Québec and its regions.”

According to the 2023 annual report from Sollio Cooperative Group, net sales for Olymel rose to C$4.71 billion ($3.47 billion) in 2023 an increase from C$4.6 billion ($3.4 billion) the previous year.

“A focus on value-added products in the fresh pork sector contributed to a significant improvement in meat margins, and, despite a number of challenges, we delivered solid results for the year,” said Yanick Gervais, president and CEO of Olymel, in the annual report. “The measures rapidly implemented were effective, limiting impacts on profitability.”

The company also reported making record profits in 2023 in its bacon sector.

In the last year Olymel also worked on various restructuring plans.

A few months ago Olymel confirmed its plans to lay off 100 employees at its Red Deer, Alberta, plant. 

The meat producer also announced in May 2023 the closure of six sow units in Alberta and Saskatchewan, which caused 80 people to be laid off.

At the time, Olymel stated that the sow farm closures would result in a net reduction of approximately 200,000 market hogs annually to the Olymel Red Deer slaughter facility from company-owned farms.

During April 2023, Olymel announced it would close a major hog processing plant in Quebec that would lay off 994 employees. And in February 2023, Olymel stated that it would close two other pork processing plants.

La Coop fédérée changed its name to Sollio Cooperative Group in February 2020.