February 29/Ottawa/The Ottawa Citizen -- Maple Leaf Foods Inc. reported a 70% drop in fourth quarter profits, missing analyst expectations as unexpectedly high food costs cut into meat and poultry margins and forced the food processor to hike its prices.
For the period ended December 31, Maple Leaf earned $9.2 million, compared with $30.6-million a year ago. This included $32.2 million in costs related to restructuring activities, compared with $19.7 million in 2010.