Premium Brands Holdings Corp. announced stellar sales figures and a major acquisition August 4.
The producer, marketer and distributor of branded specialty food products (TSX:PBH) announced that it would spend $73.7 million in cash and about $29 million worth of shares to buy most of the assets and operating divisions of Waterloo, Ontario-based Piller Sausages and Delicatessens Ltd.
The news came on the day that Premium Brands reported its second-quarter earnings.
Revenue increased 46%, or $57.9 million to a record $183.8 million as compared with $125.9 million in 2010’s second quarter.
Its profit in the quarter, however, was hurt by restructuring costs associated with its recently acquired Deli Chef business.
Earnings dipped to $4.5 million in the quarter, down from $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
Some other recent Premium Brands acquisitions include SK Food Group Inc., a manufacturer of artisan sandwiches and wraps, and Duso’s Fine Foods, a Vancouver-based Italian deli company.
The 600-employee Piller generates about $180 million annually from manufacturing specialty European deli meats.
“This transaction will create a national deli meats platform that will feature two of Canada’s most respected deli brands: Grimm’s in the west and Piller’s in the east,” Premium Brands CEO George Paleologou said in a release.
Paleologou has completed more than 40 acquisitions at Premium Brands since 2001 – first as CFO and then as president and CEO.
Glen Korstrom
Twitter: GlenKorstrom