69th Annual General Meeting
Montreal, Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - At its 69th Annual General Meeting, Agropur has announced another good financial performance for the past year. The Cooperative ended 2007 with a new record: earnings before patronage dividends reached $129.7 million and sales exceeded $2.45 billion.
Canada's largest dairy cooperative continues to grow, as underlined by the highlights of the 2007 fiscal year. Despite a fiercely competitive market, Agropur is in a strong position and more than ever the Cooperative intends to pursue its development plans both nationally and internationally. Last year saw the Cooperative enter the South American market and strengthen its North American position by acquiring businesses in both Canada and the United States. "We believe that to remain competitive and to better serve our customers, we must acquire more processing assets, either in Canada or abroad," said Chief Executive Officer, Pierre Claprood.
As the founders of Agropur said in 1938, the Cooperative knows no borders. "This same spirit continues to drive the business in its determination to expand," stated Chairman Serge Riendeau.
In addition to Agropur's recent acquisitions, the long-term competitiveness of the Cooperative also depends on its ability to maintain its current pace of new product development. Once again, 2007 was a good year, with products like Champfleury, Oka with mushrooms, Allégro Probio 4% and Quebon Blue Raspberry Milk continuing to underline Agropur's reputation as an innovator. Agropur products also received several prestigious awards, such as the Caséus d'Or in Quebec for Champfleury, and the title of "world's best aged cheddar" for its Canadian Reserve at the 2006 World Championship Cheese Contest, a distinction lasting two years.
For the Cooperative, 2007 was a year of projects and expansion. Through a combination of innovation, tradition, expertise, rigour, resource synergies and operating efficiency, Agropur will ensure it continues to proudly take its place among the leaders of the Canadian dairy industry.
Founded in 1938, the Agropur Cooperative is a market leader of the Canadian dairy industry. It has 3,783 members and 4,500 employees, as well as 22 plants in Canada, the United States and Argentina. It also operates many distribution centres across Canada and processes over two billion litres of milk a year, offering an impressive product line that includes Québon, Oka, Sealtest, Island Farms and Natrel.