Sweden's leading abattoir and meat group Swedish Meats reported a small profit for the last four months to August after years of losses, and the unexpected improvement in earnings could signal that a turn-around is imminent in the depressed Swedish meat industry. Swedish Meats posted an operating profit of Skr59m (US$5.57m) for the May to August period, compared with a Skr69m loss year on year. Sales in the period rose 23% to Skr3.2bn. For the eight-month period to August, Swedish Meats reported sales up 17% to Skr6.1bn, and the operating loss narrowed to Skr23m from Skr175m a year-ago.