US poultry producer Pilgrim's Pride moved to a profit in 2012 and claimed its "best results in recent years".
The company made a profit of US$174m in the 12 months to the end of December. This compares to a net loss of $495.7m last year. The firm also made an operating profit of $250.3m versus an operating loss of $373.6m a year ago.
Last year, Pilgrim's blamed its losses on "extreme grain volatility and increased input costs".
CEO Bill Lovette said the results point to a "determined and disciplined" execution of the strategy it implemented over a year and half ago.
"Through our team members' efforts, we have improved our competitive position significantly over the past two years and we believe we are well positioned for that to continue," he added.
Net sales in the period amounted to $8.12bn, a 7.8% increase on the comparable period last year.
Pilgrim's Pride Reports Solid Conclusion to Fiscal 2012
GREELEY, Colo., Feb. 14, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (Nasdaq:PPC) reported fourth quarter 2012 results with net sales of $2.2 billion, Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization ("EBITDA") of$64.4 million and net income of $22.8 million, resulting in earnings per share of $0.09 for the quarter.
For the full 2012 fiscal year, the Company achieved $8.1 billion in net sales and $393.9 million of EBITDA. Pilgrim's recognized $174.2 million in net income for the year, or $0.70 per weighted average share, making it one of the Company's best results in recent years. Net debt declined to $1.1 billion during the period, reflecting a year-to-date reduction of $327.8 million.
"The results achieved in 2012 point to a determined and disciplined execution of the strategy we implemented over a year and half ago. Through our team members' efforts, we have improved our competitive position significantly over the past two years and we believe we are well positioned for that to continue," stated Bill Lovette, Pilgrim's Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Lovette continued, "While increased chicken pricing have helped offset the volatile increase in feed costs, our changes in sales mix, yield improvements and driving costs out of our plants and SG&A have made a pivotal impact. We continue to focus on creating value for our key customers, relentless pursuit of operational excellence and growing our value added exports in order to maintain the trajectory of improvement in 2013 and beyond."
Conference Call Information
A conference call to discuss Pilgrim's quarterly results will be held tomorrow, February 15 at 7:00 a.m. Mountain (9 a.m.Eastern). Participants are encouraged to pre-register for the conference call using the link below. Callers who pre-register will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator. Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time.
To pre-register, go to: http://services.choruscall.com/links/ppc130215.html
You may also reach the pre-registration link by logging in through the investor section of our website at www.pilgrims.comand clicking on the link under "Upcoming Events."
For those who would like to join the call but have not pre-registered, access is available by dialing +1 (877) 270-2148 within the US or +1 (412) 902-6510 internationally and requesting the "Pilgrim's Pride Conference." Please note that to submit a question to management during the call, you must be logged in via telephone.
Replays of the conference call will be available on Pilgrim's website approximately two hours after the call concludes and can be accessed through the "Investor" section of www.pilgrims.com. The webcast will be available for replay through May 2, 2013.
About Pilgrim's Pride
Pilgrim's employs approximately 38,000 people and operates chicken processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 12 states, Puerto Rico and Mexico. The Company's primary distribution is through retailers and foodservice distributors.
