Hormel Foods Corp. reported a better-than-expected profit for its most recent quarter, due largely to a 122% profit gain in the company's turkey unit.
"Our Jennie-O Turkey Store segment had an outstanding quarter, driven by favorable commodity meat margins and improved efficiencies across the entire supply chain and operations," said Chief Executive Jeffrey Ettinger. Hormel's net income in the fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 30 was $148.8 million, up from $111.2 million a year earlier. Total sales rose 11% to $1.92 billion.
The company has been dealing with higher costs for beef and pork due to smaller cattle and hog herds and strong meat exports, as well as high corn prices, which have increased production costs for U.S. poultry producers. "We expect to see higher input costs the balance of the year, and our team will continue to tackle the challenge of offsetting these added costs with pricing and efficiency gains," said Ettinger.
