In fiscal twenty twenty five, we reached a significant milestone completing this program and beginning to see the returns it was designed to unlock. These investments were not about quick wins. They were made with the long game in mind. Today, they are enabling us to streamline our operations across geographies, expand capacity in value added product categories, optimize our supply chain and support the continued growth of our brands by staying true to our customer first commitment. The benefits are visible in our U.
S. Operations where we realized over $100,000,000 in benefits from cost savings and operational improvements in the past year alone. As we move forward, we expect these efficiencies to further reduce costs, improve our margins and enhance our competitive positioning. This is the Saputo of tomorrow, modern, agile and built to perform across all market conditions. At the heart of our strategy is a commercial discipline, a renewed focus on where we win, how we differentiate and how we serve our customers and consumers better.
We are doubling down on our focused brands recognizing their strength and relevance in consumers' lives. With innovation pipelines tailored to value conscious consumers and increased agility in how we go to market, we're reinforcing our presence across both traditional and emerging channels. We are also embracing data driven decision making to accelerate growth. Our adoption of digital technologies from automating workflows to leveraging advanced analytics is enhancing our ability to respond to market dynamics swiftly and operate with greater efficiency. In fiscal year twenty twenty six and beyond, we will continue to invest in elevating the consumer experience, strengthening our customer partnerships and expanding our reach in high potential regions and segments.
This strategic clarity allows us to focus not just on top line growth, but on building a more profitable and sustainable business. Our confidence is also grounded in the strength of our industry. Dairy remains one of the most versatile and resilient categories globally. From cheese and cultured products to protein beverages and functional ingredients, dairy touches nearly every modern food trend while remaining a staple in daily consumption and shared moments. Saputo is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this versatility.
Our diversified product portfolio is balanced across retail, foodservice and industrial channels. This mix provides both stability and room to grow. We're especially encouraged by growing demand in the protein space and continue to support customers with innovation that adds value to their menus and shelves. As just one example, our Dairyland protein line and recent QSR partnerships reflect how our products are meeting modern consumer expectations. Our ability to navigate economic uncertainty is rooted in our operational discipline.
In fiscal year twenty twenty five, we took bold action to reduce SG and A, optimize our plant footprint and restructure where needed to align resource with business needs. Our now leaner and more agile organization is better equipped to adapt and to respond. We are seeing the results, improved performance in the early part of fiscal year twenty twenty six, increased productivity and stronger fill rates across our network. Looking ahead, operational excellence will remain a key pillar of our strategy. We will continue to simplify, consolidate and digitize, ensuring that our business is as efficient and competitive as it is resilient.
Another key area of focus is our Saputo promise. We believe that long term value creation cannot achieved without environmental and social responsibility. I'm proud to share that we delivered on our 2025 environmental pledges, achieving our climate targets and making progress towards our energy goals. Our carbon intensity decreased significantly versus our fiscal year twenty twenty baseline and over $75,000,000 has been invested in more than 100 sustainability projects to date. As we turn to our new 2,030 commitments, we are renewing our ambition with new science based climate targets, continued water efficiency efforts focusing on operations at high water risk regions and streamlined waste and packaging targets.
Just as we invest in assets and brands, we are investing in our people. We were again recognized as one of the world's best companies by Time Magazine and earned gender parity certifications for a second consecutive year, testaments to the strength and integrity of our team.
Olu Beck, Victor Crawford, Anthony Fata, Annalisa King, Karen Kinsley, Diane Nistor, Francisca Ruff, Stanley Ryan, Annette Vercheron,
Hello. Hi. Shareholder, my name is Johannes Gaultier. Congratulations on the first quarter. Hope the trend continues.
So I have a question that has a similar, I guess trend, similar thesis but two parts. So one is you guys put a zero tolerance policy on the mistreatment of cows. I wanted to see how that was going if you saw any evolution with that. And secondly, I wanted to know how the plant based products section of your array of products is doing, how the profit margins compared to maybe those of dairy, How the trends are going over time?
Perfect. As Chairman, I have the authority and the ability to pass on the hard questions to Karl. So I will ask Karl to answer these questions.
Thank you for the question. Maybe start with animal welfare because we have a robust animal welfare program in place, as you know. We do have a veterinarian on staff that works with us to ensure that our expectations of our dairy farming community meet our expectations. Every one of our geographies is pretty much in line with our expectations. Certainly, there are some regional differences in how it is they go about with milk farming.
But overall, we have a robust plan. And should there be the unfortunate event where we're seeing animal cruelty of any sorts, we have also a protocol in place that absolutely stops milk procurement and does not reinstate that milk procurement unless we have the appropriate conditions that are met. From that standpoint, we're comfortable with our position. And with regards to plant based products, the plant based sector itself has gone through a downturn, a downturn in both the beverage space as well as the alternative cheeses or other. Part of the rationale behind that, as we understand it today, is that the nutritional profile of those products aren't what consumers are looking for.
Now there are still individuals who are consuming them by virtue of either inability to consume dairy or other choices. But overall, the entire sector has been in decline primarily on the basis of it not filling nutritional needs.
And how the margins compare to, I guess, the dairy your dairy products?
So where margins once were more attractive, partially the reason why we also entered into that space at a moment in time. And if you recollect, we had talked about the compatibility of the assets, made some investments. Those investments are also interchangeable, so nothing is lost from that standpoint. But the margin structure based on demand has also been eroded.
And because of that, will you continue to pursue those products? Or will you try to
focus Very opportunistically. At this stage today, what we are doing is providing, especially in our foodservice channels on the beverage side, the components that on the cafe business, if you like, are still in demand. So we do proudly prepare those products for that market. We also have the market leading brand in Cathedral City, plant based cheese in The U. K.
We make the best plant based cheese there is out there, but the growth curve forward is still somewhat limited.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
And welcome back. Go to market costs.
Over the past few years, I've said many times, we know who we are. We know what we're capable of and we know where we're going. Some have even asked if our best days were behind us. Today, I can say in confidence, in conviction and in belief, the best is yet to come. We stayed the course and it paid off.
We kept forging ahead quarter after quarter, year after year, even as the world shifted beneath our feet. We battled a global pandemic and geopolitical conflicts that tested every part of our supply chain, our workforce and our operations. We weathered one of the most inflationary environments in recent history. We faced labor shortages and recruitment headwinds in nearly every region in which we operate. And we were exposed to commodity price volatility few industries experienced to the same degree.
Through it all, we kept showing up. We kept producing, we kept delivering and most importantly, we stayed true to who we are. We said we would remain focused on driving operational excellence. We said we would execute on our capital investment plan. We said we would make tough decisions to improve our cost structure and better align our network and we delivered.
We're not here by chance or by accident. This is what resilience looks like. This is Saputo. We are a company that understands the long game. And as difficult as it was, we've never been distracted by short term noise.
We've never compromised on the values that make us who we are, discipline, humility, integrity and an unrelenting drive to do better every day. We spent the past few years strengthening foundations of this business. And I'll tell you foundations aren't exciting or sexy to talk about. But the strength of your foundation determines whether you stand or whether you fall. And we stood strong because our roots built over generations by thousands of loyal Saputo employees is solid.
Make no mistake, our people made this happen. Behind every line of productivity gain, behind every unit of milk processed, every margin improvement, every shipping container delivered, there's a person, a dedicated Saputo employee, someone who shows up early, stays late and takes pride in doing things right. We're here today because of them, because of their commitment, their resilience, their belief in what this company stands for. This, my friends, is our culture in action. As Chairman, I'd like to take a moment to express my confidence in the leadership of Karl Kolitsa.
Karl has Saputo DNA running through him. He has grown with this company. He understands our industry. He understands our culture. And most importantly, he understands our people.
He has led with clarity, courage and consistency during some of the most complex periods in our company's history. He has been instrumental in shaping our strategic direction and I have no doubt under his leadership, Saputo will not only continue to grow, it will thrive. Just a little pressure for you there, Karl. But Karl is supported by an exceptional management team, experienced, aligned and energized by the opportunities ahead. They are laser focused on execution, a team of true corporate warriors, unshaken by adversity.
They are not complacent. They are not afraid to make bold decisions when the time is right. So we have the right team in place, we have the right strategy, we have the scale, the assets, the brands to continue to build value for all stakeholders. Let me be clear, our job is not done. We are not satisfied to maintain, we are built to lead.
We've proven our ability to navigate headwinds. We've shown that we can adapt. What excites me most is the strength of our position as we move forward. We are in control of our own destiny and we have a clear vision. We are now playing offense.
The global dairy markets remain full of potential. Consumption is growing, demand for nutritious high quality protein products remain strong. And as global dynamics evolve, Saputo is positioned better than ever to meet those needs with discipline, innovation and volume. To our shareholders, thank you for your continued trust. Delivering long term sustainable value remains our priority.
To our Board of Directors, thank you for your oversight, your guidance, your stewardship and most importantly, your support.