Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., the US poultry group, today (29 July) reported a third-quarter loss amid surging feed-grain costs.
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The company posted a net loss from continuing operations of US$48.3m, or $0.69 per share, on net sales of $2.2bn for its third fiscal quarter ended 28 June.
Last year, Pilgrim’s Pride posted a net profit from continuing operations of $63.3m.
The leading US chicken producer by volume, which has been slashing jobs to save money as feed expenses jump, saw gross margin tumble to 2.4% from 11.2%.
“Our financial results in the third quarter of fiscal 2008 reflect the significant headwinds facing our company and industry from high feed costs,” said Clint Rivers, president and CEO.
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By GlobalData“We have worked diligently to pass along price increases to our customers to help offset the impact of record-high corn and soybean meal costs. But, like other producers, we simply have not been able to keep pace with the extreme price volatility in the grain markets.”
The company said its total feed-ingredient costs in the quarter climbed $266m, or 41%, when compared to the same period a year ago.
Pilgrim’s Pride last month announced plans to consolidate its El Dorado, Arkansas tray-pack chicken plant into six other facilities resulting in the loss of around 600 jobs.
Rivers said the company is doing everything in its control to manage through this “extremely difficult operating environment”.
