Cal-Maine reported an operating income of US$14.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2024, compared to US$259.9 million in the prior-year quarter, in its recent financial review.
The significant decrease was attributed to an almost 50% reduction in conventional shell egg prices over the last year as U.S. producers have recovered from the impacts of 2022’s highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks.
Max Bowman, Cal-Maine Foods Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, stated, “While conventional egg prices improved sequentially, the net average selling price per dozen was US$1.458 for conventional eggs in the second quarter of fiscal 2024, down 49.4% compared with US$2.883 for the prior-year quarter. Net average selling price for specialty eggs was US$2.277 per dozen, compared with US$2.370 per dozen for the second quarter of fiscal 2023, a decline of 3.9%.”
Cal-Maine’s net sales were US$523.2 million compared to US$801.7 million in the same quarter last year, which was attributed to the significant decrease in shell egg prices. However, the producer’s sales volumes improved slightly with 288.2 million total dozens sold in the second quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to 284.1 million in the same quarter in fiscal 2023.
Sherman Miller, Cal-Maine Foods President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Our sales reflect a different market environment from a year ago, with significantly lower average selling prices. However, our total volumes sold were up slightly over a year ago, as consumer demand for shell eggs continued to be favorable in the quarter, especially leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday.”
Additionally, Bowman explained that Cal-Maine benefitted from lower feed ingredient prices during the quarter, despite higher input costs at its production, processing and distribution centers.
Acquisitions in the quarter
In September 2023, Cal-Maine acquired the assets of Fassio Egg Farms located in Erda, Utah, to help further expand its cage-free production capabilities.
In January 2023, Cal-Maine announced it would be acquiring a Tyson Foods processing facility located in Dexter Missouri, which is expected to be finalized in the third fiscal quarter of 2024.
