Gleaner reports improved earnings; core earnings still weak

Gleaner Company Limited reported net profit of $430.6Mn (EPS: $0.36), a considerable improvement over the $208Mn (EPS: $0.15) recorded in 2009. The performance during the year does not reflect that continued challenges that the company faces such as growing revenues. Revenues fell 3% during the year but were tempered by marked reduction in all expense categories. The company’s performance was driven primarily by pension income which is not core to its business. Excluding this from the financial statements would have shown net profit of $152.Mn. Going forward, we anticipate that the company will continue to face similar challenges especially given the fact that higher oil prices on the international market will make it more challenging to control costs.