Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc., the globe’s second largest frozen potato company after McCain Foods, has announced encouraging results in its fiscal first quarter of 2023.

Tom Werner, president and CEO said, “We drove strong sales, earnings growth, and gross margin expansion in the quarter by executing pricing actions across each of our business segments and generating manufacturing cost-savings to counter inflation. While volume declined as a result of softer restaurant traffic trends and supply chain constraints impacting production run-rates in our plants, we continued to make progress in improving customer service levels.”

“We expect the potato crop in our growing regions to be at the lower end of historical averages with good overall quality and below average yields due to the significant heat waves late in the season,” Werner continued. “While near-term demand trends may continue to be volatile as consumers navigate this inflationary environment, our recent announcement to expand capacity in Argentina, along with our ongoing investments in Idaho and China, demonstrate our confidence in the long-term health and growth outlook of the frozen potato category.”

In July 2022, Lamb Weston announced the acquisition of an additional 40 per cent interest in Alimentos Modernos S.A. (“LWAMSA”), its joint venture in Argentina. This move tops up its previously held 50 per cent ownership.

The company has posted a US$62.7 million loss due to its exit from its joint venture in Russia.

Lamb Weston operates a frozen potato processing facility in Taber, Alberta.  

Source:  Lamb Weston October 5, 2022 news release