The company said the decrease was primarily a result of lower selling prices due to lower market values within the Meat Products Group (MPG). This was partially offset by improved volume.
Sales from continuing operations for the first six months were $1.6 billion, an increase of 3.8%.
The MPG includes prepared meats, lunch kits and snacks, and fresh pork and poultry products sold under leading Canadian brands such as Maple Leaf and Schneiders.
Fresh pork
Sales in the group for the second quarter decreased by 1% to $817.2m. This decrease was a result of lower market prices in fresh pork partially of offset by a favourable sales mix in fresh poultry.
“We are very pleased with the progress we made in the second quarter,” said Michael McCain, president and CEO. “We delivered improved volumes with strong commercial performance.
“We marked a major milestone with the closing of the last of our remaining legacy facilities, which brought an end to our duplicative supply chain, and continued to improve the operational efficiency of our new start-up plants.”