Saputo profit up 37 percent, spurred by Neilson buy

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian dairy products company Saputo Inc SAP.TO said on Tuesday its quarterly profit rose 37 percent, helped mainly by its 2008 acquisition of Neilson Dairy.

Montreal-based Saputo, Canada's biggest cheese maker, said it earned C$94.5 million ($88.5 million), or 45 Canadian cents a share, in its second quarter, ended September 30, up from C$69 million, or 33 Canadian cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 2 percent to C$1.48 billion, mainly due to gains from the Neilson acquisition.

Analysts had expected, on average, earnings of 41 Canadian cents a share before items, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Saputo's shares, which have risen almost 20 percent so far this year, were up 1.7 percent at C$26.57 early on Tuesday afternoon.

($1=$1.07 Canadian)

(Reporting by Scott Anderson; editing by Peter Galloway)