Maple Leaf Foods Inc. said its first-quarter normalized net income was 27 Canadian cents per share, compared with the S&P Capital IQ consensus estimate of 23 cents per share.

EPS rose year over year from 3 cents.

Normalized net income, which excludes unusual gains or losses on a pre- and after-tax basis, was C$37.4 million, an increase from C$4.6 million in the year-earlier period.

The normalized profit margin climbed to 4.7% from 0.6% in the year-earlier period.

Total revenue rose year over year to C$796.9 million from C$780.2 million, and total operating expenses declined year over year to C$736.6 million from C$772.5 million.

Reported net income came to C$42.6 million, or 31 cents per share, compared to a loss of C$2.9 million, or a loss of 2 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.