Pilgrim’s Pride, the US poultry arm of Brazilian meat giant JBS, saw sales and profit rise in the second quarter driven by robust results in North America.
The Colorado-based company booked an 11% increase in revenue to $2.3bn in the three months through June, resulting in first-half sales of $4.3bn, it said in an earnings statement yesterday (2 August). Net income for the quarter surged 53% to $234m, for a six-month total of $328m.
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Not surprisingly, the onset of the summer barbecue spree had an impact on Pilgrim’s results.
CEO Bill Lovette said: “This summer has brought strong demand for grilling season and we see continuation of chicken as a choice protein in domestic and international markets.” He also pointed to strong exports and the company’s diversity in offering bird sizes ranging from small to large, tray packed and also the de-boning segment for large birds.
The biggest fresh chicken producer in the US has the capacity to rear more than 34 million birds a week and has operations in 14 states, plus factories in Mexico and Puerto Rico. JBS owns around 78% of Pilgrim’s common shares. The Brazilian firm, which is offloading assets to bolster its finances, denied suggestions it may be putting the US arm up for sale in June.
Operating profit for the second quarter rose 51% to $359m and was up 20% in the first half to $512m. In terms of operating margins for the three months through June, they came in at 14.8% and 22% for the US and Mexico, respectively.
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