Sanderson Farms, a US-based frozen chicken products maker, has posed a net income of $45.3m for the fourth quarter ended 31 October 2013, compared to $9.3m for the same period last year.
During the quarter, net sales were $727.1m compared with $648.4m for the same period a year ago.
For the full year ended 31 October 2013, the company reported net sales of $2.68bn compared to $2.38bn for the same period last year. Net income for the year totaled $130.6m, compared to $53.9m for last year.
According to the company chairman and CEO Joe Sanderson, overall market prices for poultry products were higher in the fourth quarter compared with prices a year ago, but came down significantly from peaks earlier during the year.
For the year, the company sold 3.031 billion pounds of dressed poultry, compared with 2.952 billion pounds in fiscal 2012.
Sanderson said, "While poultry markets improved compared to fiscal 2012, grain prices remained near record high levels during much of fiscal 2013 before moderating during the fourth quarter on optimism surrounding the current year's grain harvest.
"However, the improved poultry market prices more than offset the higher feed costs, and our margins improved significantly during fiscal 2013 compared to fiscal 2012."
