It won't surprise you to learn this: the stock of Maple Leaf Foods hit a record low on Monday.
It comes in the wake of one of the biggest food recalls in Canadian history, and amid much turmoil in the 150-year-old company over the outbreak of a
killer strain of listeria.
The firm's shares plunged 10.2 per cent to close at $8.80 on the TSX Monday - close to the 52-week low it set earlier in the day.
"It's not surprising to see the sell-off simply because of this problem, and I don't see any quick recovery," admits Fred Ketchen of Scotia McLeod.
Investors are anticipating not only lower sales even after the products are restored but the possibility of major lawsuits that will follow the deaths of four people believed tied to the firm's Toronto plant. A
class action procedure is already in the works.
That doesn't surprise Ketchen, either.
"We live in that kind of a society, and if there are lawsuits, that's going to be expensive. Then there's the reputational damage of course. I mean if you go into the store today or tomorrow or next week, are you going to really jump to buy Maple Leaf Food products or are you going to look for an alternative?"
More than 200 products are now off the shelves and there's no sign of when they'll be back. Maple Leaf Foods has already confirmed the clean-up and returns will cost it $20 million. And that's just the start.
"Damage control and financial minimization at a time like this has not even been considered," admits Chief Financial Officer Michael Vels.
Vels confirmed the company has product liability insurance which should protect it from class action suits, although some wonder if they're completely covered for every legal avenue.
But getting its reputation back may prove more troublesome and more costly.
The company admits it may never be able to find the source of the outbreak because the bug is so pervasive.
"It's very, very, very difficult, if not impossible, to pinpoint a cause," Vels warns. "I don't know how important that is to consumers. I think our perspective is what's more important is we let them know what's going on and we take swift and conservative action to safeguard their health."