A pair of fires at Tyson Foods poultry processing facilities hurt the operating profits for the company’s poultry segment during the second quarter of fiscal year 2017, the company announced on May 8.
Tyson Foods, in reporting its quarterly earnings, noted that the operating income for the chicken segment was down from $347 million in the second quarter of 2016 to $233 million for the most recent quarter, which ended on April 1. Despite that, the Tyson Foods chicken segment was still able to see its sales increase from $2.74 billion to about $2.80 billion during the second quarter on a year-over-year basis.
“Had it not been for the fires, our chicken segment return on sales would have been within its normalized range,” Tyson Foods President and CEO Tom Hayes stated in a press release.
Both fires occurred in February. One was in Vienna, Georgia, while the other was in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
According to an email from Gary Mickelson, senior public relations director for Tyson Foods, the fire in Vienna involved the company’s labeling department and an upstairs box room, while the fire at Vicksburg involved a boiler building adjacent to the main plant. Nobody was injured in either fire.
“Repairs have been made and both plants are fully operational,” Mickelson added.
Other second-quarter highlights for Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods reported a net income of $341 million during the second quarter, down from the $434 it achieved during the same quarter of 2016. It’s sales dropped only by a small amount, going from $9.17 billion to $9.08 billion.
The company’s operating income for its beef segment saw the largest year-over-year increase, going from $46 million to $126 million. It’s pork segment’s operating income was up from $140 million to $141 million.
