TRADE TROUBLES

Agriculture equipment dealer Rocky Mountain scraps growth plan, trims staff,

Canada’s largest agriculture equipment dealer says it is scrapping its aggressive growth strategy and has trimmed five per cent of its staff due it part to farmer pessimism it blames on unsolved international trade disputes.

The federal government’s inability to solve trade battles with China, India, Saudi Arabia and other countries was cited by Rocky Mountain Dealerships Inc. as it reported secondquarter financial results that fell well short of analyst expectations.

“We need to get some clarity around those macro (economic) conditions ... the farmers want to have some understanding of where their end markets are going to be,” said CEO Garrett Ganden on a conference call on Wednesday.

Farm sentiment as reflected in sales of new and used equipment and demand for parts and service at its centres across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba turned “sharply negative” after seeding was completed in early May and improved only slightly when spring rains came in late June, Ganden said.

The Calgary-based company reported net earnings of $750,000, or four cents per share, on revenue of $195 million in the three months ended June 30, versus earnings of $6.06 million or 30 cents on revenue of $303 million in the same period of 2018.