US meat processor Smithfield Foods today (16 June) reported “record” annual results as the company’s hog production arm moved into the black and profits from fresh pork rose.
The company booked net income of US$521m for the year to 1 May, compared to a net loss of $101.4m a year earlier.
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Smithfield’s hog production unit made an operating profit of US$224.4m. Twelve months ago, the company reported that the business had run up operating losses of US$539.2m.
Operating profit from fresh pork rose by more than six-fold to US$406.5m and enjoyed “record” margins thanks to demand in export markets.
The improved profitability from the two units offset a 27.4% fall in operating profit from Smithfield’s packaged meats business, which saw sales rise but faced “record high raw material costs”, the company said.
Smithfield’s annual sales were up 8.9% at US$12.2bn on the back of higher sales from packaged meat, fresh pork and packaged meat.
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By GlobalDataPresident and CEO Larry Pope said Smithfield had “an outstanding year”. He added: “This year’s earnings far exceeded those of our last record year and demonstrated an important shift in the key drivers of our business model toward consumer packaged meats, as more than two-thirds of our profits were generated by the pork segment.”
Click here for more detail on Smithfield’s full-year and fourth-quarter results.
