Building a long-term-oriented portfolio that generates regular cash flows can be a liberating endeavour. When your portfolio centres around stable income-producing dividend stocks, you don’t necessarily have to sell shares just to get some financial help from your account when you need it. My colleague and I are building retirement portfolios in our early 40s, and the journey to create passive income is incredibly exciting so far.
If you have $14,000 to invest in a single stock, which resilient TSX dividend stock should you choose to kickstart this cash-flowing strategy? I would suggest Rogers Sugar (TSX:RSI) stock for your consideration today. Here’s why.
Rogers Sugar stock: Defensive moats protect reliable cash flow
To create a passive income stream that survives economic downturns, look to the consumer staples sector. Rogers Sugar is a defensive dividend stock any Canadian investor can buy for consistent quarterly dividends.
Rogers Sugar operates a well-entrenched virtual duopoly in the Canadian refined sugar market. While headline revenue can fluctuate based on global commodity prices, its underlying profitability remains remarkably resilient.
In its latest quarterly earnings results, the company proved its immense pricing power. Despite global trade shifts hitting export volumes, Rogers Sugar expanded its consolidated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA) by 10% year-over-year to $38.3 million. Even better, adjusted earnings per share (EPS) jumped 15% to $0.14, handily beating Bay Street expectations.
Looking ahead, management expects “consistent financial performance” in 2026. Healthy domestic sugar margins are successfully offsetting lower U.S. export volumes.
Growth catalysts backing the RSI stock dividend
Rogers Sugar stock features clear growth catalysts that make it an impressive passive income play. While sugar production is about to surge, maple syrup product volumes are expanding, supported by key automation investments.
More importantly, the company’s major expansion initiative, the LEAP project in Montreal, is progressing on time and on budget. Totaling an estimated $280 million to $300 million, the project remains fully on track to come online during the first half of 2027. LEAP will add approximately 100,000 metric tonnes of production capacity to meet expanding domestic food sweetener demand, ensuring a structural lift to long-term cash flows.
A highly sustainable passive income source
Dividend safety is paramount for investors striving to create reliable passive income. Rogers Sugar maintains a stellar balance sheet backed by strong free cash flow generation. In fact, trailing 12-month (TTM) free cash flow recently rose to $92.5 million, up from $83 million in the prior-year period, providing a comfortable cushion for distributions.
While free cash flow experiences occasional operational gyrations, the quarterly dividend has remained flat for more than a decade.
RSI Dividend data by YCharts
RSI stock’s long dividend track record proves management’s commitment to protecting the payout. Investors can trust management to leave this passive-income-printing machine untouched as it scales production and navigates trade terms with the United States.
The dividend stock’s quarterly distribution of $0.09 per share yields a lucrative 5.2% annually, making it ideal for anyone looking to earn a defensive passive income stream.
How to invest $14,000 to make $731.16 in passive income
Ready to put your TFSA capital to work? Here is how you can buy and hold Rogers Sugar stock to create passive income of $731.16 annually:
By purchasing 2,031 shares at a recent price of $6.89, you lock in a reliable, defensive income pillar that will keep your TFSA cash flow flowing for years to come.