For the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, Pilgrim’s Pride saw its net income decline sharply when compared to the same quarter of 2022, while its net sales dropped by 1.8%.
The company -- which has operations in the United States, Mexico and Europe -- released its quarterly financial results on April 27.
Net income attributable to Pilgrim’s Pride for the quarter was $5.19 million, down from the $280.4 million one year ago. Net sales for the quarter were $4.16 billion. However, of the three major geographical areas where Pilgrim’s operates, sales only dropped in the United States.
“Despite improving market fundamentals during the quarter, business conditions remained difficult given elevated input costs, persistent inflation, and ample protein availability. Nonetheless, our team members’ relentless determination supported an improvement in margins relative to the prior quarter in all geographies,” said Fabio Sandri, CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation.
U.S. operations
For Pilgrim’s U.S. operations, net sales were $2.43 billion for the quarter, down from the $2.58 billion from the same quarter of 2022.
High points for the U.S. business during the quarter included small birds, prepared foods, and case-ready poultry, while Sandri said the big bird deboning operations improved as the quarter went on.
“Our U.S. commodity business continued to face exceptionally challenging circumstances, especially in January. Nevertheless, our diverse portfolio across bird sizes and branded offerings mitigated market impacts, whereas our intense focus on operational excellence enhanced our performance. Our commitment to profitable growth continues as our automation projects, plant expansion at Athens, Georgia, and construction of a new protein conversion plant in south Georgia all remain on track,” Sandri said.
European operations
Sales for Pilgrim’s operations in Europe for the quarter rose to $1.24 billion, up from the 1.19 billion recorded one year ago.
The company noted that the business there faced continued inflationary headwinds and seasonal changes in demand, but investments in network optimization and key customer partnerships alleviated those impacts.
“Our U.K. and Europe team worked diligently of over the past year to mitigate inflationary supply chain pressures. Their relentless focus on driving scale and cost synergies across our businesses enhanced our ability to work and grow with key customers,” said Sandri.
Mexican operations
After seeing struggles in some previous quarters, Pilgrim’s Mexico’s business rebounded solidly, as its sales for the quarter were $493.8 million, up from the $467.2 million recorded last year.
Improvements made in live operations contributed to a stronger quarter, as did the stabilization of market fundamentals.
“I’m proud of the Mexico team to quickly remediate pressing issues in live operations to meet key customer needs, drive operational excellence to alleviate the impact from demanding business conditions, and diversify our portfolio through innovation and branded growth,” Sandri said.
