US poultry processor Sanderson Farms has rounded off a year of higher sales and profits with fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.
The company booked earnings per share of US$4.04 for the three months to the end of October, compared to $1.97 a year earlier and above the consensus forecast on Wall Street of $4.01.
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Net income more than doubled from $45.3m a year ago to $93.1m. Operating income was almost twice as high, climbing from $71.8m in last year’s fourth quarter to $142.3m.
Net sales grew 4.6% to $760.9m and Sanderson also benefited from a drop in the cost of sales amid a drop in grain prices.
“While poultry markets improved only slightly compared to fiscal 2013, grain prices, especially corn prices, were significantly lower during the year when compared to fiscal 2013,” chairman and CEO Joe Sanderson Jr said. “The fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 marked a strong finish to a successful year for Sanderson Farms.”
BB&T Capital Markets Brett Hundley agreed the company’s fourth quarter was a “strong performance” and said 2015 would be another “strong year”.
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By GlobalData“We are increasing our FY’15 EPS estimate to $10.38 from $10.14; our new estimate takes company guidance into account on production, D&A, and tax, as well as assumptions on another hefty round of SG&A plus a smaller benefit from feed,” Hundley said.
However, shares in Sanderson closed down 1.89% and Hundley added: “We think that 2015 will be another strong year of earnings for Sanderson Farms; we note that many investors are concerned about 2016 industry prospects, and this could limit upside potential in the shares from here.”
