alliance



Alliance Grain Traders says it is delaying its plans to build a Durum processing and pasta plant in Regina.

The news came as the company released its first quarter financial results which showed net earnings of $2.7 million, down from the $7.1 million profit a year earlier.

CEO Murad Al Katib says capital programs in 2012 are being scaled back and some projects deferred to 2013 and beyond, as they focus on returning the business to a more normalized profitability and margin.

Bill Gehl, the Chair of the Canadian Wheat Board Alliance, says he’s not surprised by the delay.

"I think Mr. Ritz and Mr. Harper just called in some of their friends to try to make what they were doing a little bit more palatable," says Gehl. "We can see by this that Alliance has obviously done their homework and found that maybe it's not going to be such a great environment for them after all."

Gehl says he doubts that the plant will ever be built.