Strategic Blueprint to drive sustainable revenue growth, structural margin expansion, and disciplined capital allocation

MISSISSAUGA, ON, March 10, 2026 /CNW/ - Maple Leaf Foods Inc. ("Maple Leaf Foods" or the "Company") (TSX: MFI) today announced its financial targets for 2030 as a purpose-driven, protein-focused, brand-led consumer packaged goods company. Additional details on the Company's 2030 financial targets, strategic Blueprint, and growth initiatives will be shared at its Investor Day later today.

2030 Financial Targets

The Company expects the following in 2030:

• Revenue: Revenue to grow to approximately $5 billion, driven by proven growth platforms.
  
  
• Adjusted EBITDA¹: Approximately $750 million in Adjusted EBITDA, reflecting the benefits of revenue growth and structurally higher margins over time.
  
  
• Free Cash Flow: Cumulative free cash flow over the 2026 to 2030 five-year period of approximately $1.7 to $1.8 billion, scaling in line with profit growth, and supported by a disciplined approach to capital allocation.
  
  
• Balance Sheet: Maintaining an investment-grade balance sheet, operating with Net Debt/Adjusted EBITDA¹ leverage ratio below 3.0x.
  
  
• Shareholder Returns: Deliver enhanced shareholder returns through smart and disciplined capital allocation.

These targets reflect Maple Leaf Foods' vision to be the Most Sustainable Protein Company on Earth through execution of the Company's strategic Blueprint, organized around five key pillars: Lead the Way, Build Loved Brands, Broaden Our Impact, Operate with Excellence, and Develop Extraordinary Talent. The Blueprint serves as the Company's strategic compass, guiding its approach to sustainable, profitable growth and long-term value creation for all stakeholders.

"Today marks an important milestone as we look ahead to the value creation opportunity in front of us," said Curtis Frank, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Execution of our strategic Blueprint has delivered consistent revenue growth, expanded margins, and a strong balance sheet that enables us to create value and return capital to shareholders. With our major investments in new facilities complete, we are positioned to accelerate profitable growth and generate significant free cash flow."

"As we look to the future, our priorities are clear. We will continue to scale our core business, expand structural margins, and deploy capital with discipline. We have the brands, the capabilities, the team, and the financial strength to execute these priorities as we advance our vision to be the most sustainable protein company on earth creating enduring value for all stakeholders."

Track Record of Execution

Maple Leaf Foods has delivered strong results under its strategic Blueprint, recently completing investments of over $1 billion in new facilities, including the London Poultry facility, Winnipeg Bacon Centre of Excellence, and Walker Road Further Processed Poultry expansion. Since 2021, revenue has grown by approximately 5% on a compounded annual basis, and Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 630 basis points from 5.9% to 12.2% in 2025. Annual Free Cash Flow increased to $318 million in 2025, and Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio improved to 2.1x, strengthening the balance sheet and enabling the return of approximately $680 million to shareholders over the last five years through dividends and share buybacks, including a special dividend of $75 million in December 2025. Building on this base and strong track record, Maple Leaf Foods believes that it is well positioned to deliver on its 2030 targets.

Focused Value Creation Algorithm

Maple Leaf Foods' path to achieving revenue of approximately $5 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $750 million in 2030 is anchored in core strategic priorities:

Scale the Core Business: Deliver organic mid-single-digit revenue expansion through its proven growth platforms of leading in Sustainable Meats, building a portfolio of loved brands, accelerating impactful innovation, expanding our reach, and aligning to customer strategies, all supported by strong and growing consumer demand for protein.

Expand Structural Margins: Grow profits approximately twice as fast as revenue, reflecting the benefits of both revenue growth and structurally higher margins over time. Margin expansion will be driven by improved commercial mix, productivity-driven operating leverage, and structural cost reductions through the Company's Fuel for Growth program. Fuel for Growth focuses on embedding a culture of Operational Excellence, leveraging investments in technology, AI, and automation, network optimization, standardizing plant structures and achieving portfolio average margin in plant protein.

Smart & Disciplined Capital Allocation: Act as a disciplined steward of capital with a clear focus on long-term value creation. Strong free cash flow provides flexibility to execute well-defined priorities: invest in the business to drive revenue growth and margin expansion, deliver a growing, sustainable and attractive annual dividend, maintain a strong investment-grade balance sheet, selectively pursue accretive, bolt-on acquisitions that meet Maple Leaf's strategic and financial framework, and return of capital to shareholders.

Investor Day

Additional details on the Company's 2030 financial targets, strategic Blueprint, growth initiatives, and operational priorities, and capital allocation framework will be shared at its Investor Day later today. A live webcast and presentation materials will be available at www.mapleleaffoods.com/investors/.

Forward Looking Information

This press release contains certain information that constitutes forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. Statements containing forward-looking information are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance but provide insights regarding management's current expectations and plans and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. Forward looking information can be generally identified by words such as "anticipate", "expect", "believe", "may", "will", "should", "estimate", "intend" or other similar words. Specific forward-looking information in this document includes, but is not limited to, statements and discussion regarding the Company's goals, vision, priorities, and strategic Blueprint, the Company's 2030 financial targets, including the Company's expectations for revenue to grow to approximately $5 billion in 2030, Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $750 million in 2030, cumulative free cash flow over the 2026 to 2030 period of approximately $1.7 to $1.8 billion, and target Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio below approximately 3.0x, the Company's goals to deliver enhanced shareholder returns through smart and disciplined capital allocation from 2026 to 2030, future value creation opportunity, the Company's ability to accelerate profitable growth and generate significant free cash flow, the Company's core strategic priorities to scale the core business, to target delivery of mid-single-digit revenue growth between 2026 and 2030, the Company's goal to grow profits approximately twice as fast as revenue from 2026 to 2030, and the Company's goals to focus on long term value creation, maintain a competitive and growing annual dividend, preserve an investment-grade balance sheet, provide flexibility for value-accretive capital deployment, pursue selective bolt-on acquisitions that meet specific strategic and financial considerations, and to return capital to shareholders.

Forward-looking information in this press release is based on management's current strategies, estimates, forecasts and projections about the Company's business and the industry in which it operates and includes beliefs and assumptions made by management regarding, among other matters: adaptations in operations, supply chain and consumer behaviour; economic patterns, general economic and geopolitical conditions; foreign exchange rates, tariffs and other trade dynamics and their impact on input pricing; the competitive environment and associated market conditions including behaviour of competitors and customers; the relationship between pricing, inflation, volume and sales of the Company's products; and geopolitical conditions and the ability of the Company to access markets and source ingredients, and the other factors and assumptions referred to under the heading "Forward-Looking Statements" in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2025.

In addition to the assumptions noted above, the foregoing financial targets to the end of 2030 are based on several key assumptions, including the following: volume growth, ability to pass through pricing to recover inflation on a basis similar to historical experience, consistent levels of population growth and consumer relationship to food consumption similar to historical levels, operating leverage similar to historical levels, ability to execute continuous improvement program savings and manufacturing strategy savings at all and/or in accordance with schedule, continued investment in growth capital expenditures projects, ability to implement planned and/or anticipated manufacturing efficiency and/or cost savings in the plant protein category, maintaining similar levels of historical costs of good sold, maintaining similar levels of historical capital expenditures, ability to price to recover inflation while growing sales volumes consistent with historical experience, comparable consumer environment to historical experience, and ability to offset inflation with continuous improvement savings while executing the Company's manufacturing strategy.

Certain statements concerning the Company's 2030 financial targets may be considered financial outlook for purposes of applicable securities laws. The forward-looking information and financial targets presented in this press release are intended to provide management's expectations for the Company and the nature of its future plans as of the date of this release. Investors are cautioned that actual results may vary materially from this outlook and that the information in the outlook may not be appropriate for other purposes. As such, readers should not put undue reliance on forward-looking information and should not assume that the financial outlook will be achieved. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in this press release and the assumptions upon which they are based are reasonable, the assumptions and estimates may be materially different from the Company's actual results and experience in the future.

Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance, achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements herein. For additional information on the assumptions made, and the risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from the anticipated results, refer to the risk factors referred to under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2025, as well as the Management Information Circular dated May 1, 2025, all of which are filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company does not intend to, and disclaims any obligation to, update any forward-looking statements (including any financial outlooks), whether written or oral, or whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. 

Summary of Adjusted Historical Results

On October 1, 2025, the Company completed the spin-off of its pork operations, including its hog production and primary pork processing. The results of the pork operations have been presented separately as discontinued operations in the Company's audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025 and the comparative figures for December 31, 2024 that were prepared in accordance with IFRS.

For comparison purposes on a one-time basis only, management has also made adjustments to the Company's historical financial information for the years ended December 31, 2023, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2022 that give effect to the spin-off of the pork operations as if they had occurred on January 1, 2021. Comparisons of results for current and any prior periods are not intended to express any future trends or indications of future performance and should only be viewed as historical data.

The following table provides a summary of the Company's adjusted historical results, reflecting the progression of Sales and Adjusted EBITDA over the past five years (giving effect to the unaudited adjustments to Sales and Earnings before interest and taxes described above).

Non-IFRS Measures

The Company prepares its financial information in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards. Management has included non-IFRS and other financial measures to provide investors with supplemental measures of the Company's operating and financial performance.

Adjusted EBITDA, Free Cash Flow, Net Debt, and Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA are non-IFRS measures and ratios and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Consequently, they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other publicly traded companies and should not be construed as an alternative to other financial measures determined in accordance with IFRS. For a definition of these metrics please see the section entitled "Non-IFRS Financial Measures" which has been incorporated by reference from Maple Leaf Foods' Management's Discussion and Analysis for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2025 which is available and filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca under Maple Leaf Foods' profile.

About Maple Leaf Foods

Maple Leaf Foods (TSX: MFI) is a leading, protein-focused consumer packaged goods company headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario. It proudly produces responsibly-made, delicious food under powerhouse brands that include Maple Leaf^®, Maple Leaf Prime^®, Maple Leaf Natural Selections^®, Schneiders^®, Mina^®, Greenfield Natural Meat Co.^®, LightLife^® and Field Roast^®. Committed to Raising the Good in Food and bringing customers protein with purpose, Maple Leaf Foods delivers shared value for all its stakeholders by leading the way in safety and sustainability, building loved brands, operating with excellence, developing extraordinary talent, and broadening its impact through innovation and geographic reach.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/maple-leaf-foods-announces-2030-financial-targets-302709315.html

SOURCE Maple Leaf Foods Inc.