JBS reported a 43.5 percent year-over-year increase in net income for the first quarter of its 2018 fiscal year.
The Brazil-based meat and poultry company recorded BRL506.5 million (US$142 million) for the quarter, compared to the BRL353 million (US$98.9 million) reported for the same quarter of fiscal year 2017.
JBS also reported a net revenue of BRL39.8 billion (US$11.2 billion), a year-over-year improvement of 5.8 percent. The company attributed that growth to the strong performance of its Pilgrim’s Pride, JBS USA Pork and JBS USA Beef segments.
Seara results
JBS’ Seara unit saw its net revenue decline 2.7 percent to BRL3.97 billion ($US1.1 billion).
“As a result of a higher supply of chicken meat in the Brazilian market, chicken prices dropped by 9.1 percent, while [the] processed products category posted an increase of 1.9 percent as a reflection of the company’s strategy to prioritize business profitability,” the company stated.
“During the quarter, Seara continued to invest in quality, innovation, research and development, and has just launched a large campaign, reinforcing the quality of its products. Seara also launched a new product category in the Brazilian market with the exclusive rotisserie line – ready to eat chilled meals, with an original and exclusive technology following the world’s best food trends, which are increasingly more focused on practicality, coupled with freshness and flavor.”
As far as export markets were concerned, fresh chicken volumes remained stable with 2.4 percent higher prices, and fresh pork volumes decreased by 25.6 percent, impacted by the temporary suspension of Brazilian exports to Russia.
Pilgrim’s Pride results
Pilgrim’s Pride posted net revenue of US$2.75 billion for the quarter, a 10.8 percent increase when compared to the first quarter of FY 2017.
Net revenue of U.S. operations grew year-over-year by 6 percent, due to increases in prepared foods volumes and average sales prices, including a significant growth in the production of organic products.
In Mexico, operations performed above expectations, mainly due to increase in volumes and the normalization of the effects from the natural events that happened in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017.
In Europe, the company has lready seen positive results from the integration of Moy Park and from operational improvements that are generating synergies faster than originally forecast.
