Source: The Canadian Press

The Conference Board says Canadians businesses are in for a strong year of profits.

The think-tank’s leading indicator of industry profitability rose 0.6% in January, following an identical gain in December.

The Conference Board says that marked the strongest consecutive monthly gains since the index was established in 2001.

Still, the pick-up only partially reverses falls between March and September of 2010 and is only back to where it was a year ago.

The think-tank says key factors in recent improvements include the dramatic increase in raw material prices, better employment conditions and stock market gains.

Capital-intensive industries such as telecommunications, mining and oil extraction are expected to enjoy a good year, while the auto sector continues to decline on the profitability index.