Pilgrim’s Pride reported a strong financial performance during the third quarter of fiscal year 2024.
Those results were announced in a press release on October 30 and discussed during an earnings call on the following day.
The company achieved a net income of $350 million for the quarter, up from the $121.6 million reported for the same quarter from a year ago. The company’s net sales also rose from $4.4 billion a year ago to the most recent quarter’s sales of $4.6 billion.
“Throughout the quarter, we continued to emphasize operational excellence, diversify our portfolio and cultivate partnerships with key customers to drive value for the consumer. Our unrelenting focus on quality, service and innovation is reflected in our performance,” said Pilgrim’s President and CEO Fabio Sandri.
Pilgrims’ Pride is headquartered in the United States, but also has operations in Europe and Mexico.
Export trends
Sandri reported challenging export trends as “U.S. broiler volume was 11.2% lower while pricing was at strong levels.” He said there are also changes in demand dynamics for dark meat chicken, which had always been popular with overseas customers.
“Robust demand for dark meat in the U.S. continues to shift production for local markets, limiting availability for exports,” Sandri said.
Sandri also said U.S. port strikes and the threats of port strikes did disrupt some shipments late in the quarter, but he described those disruptions as having a limited impact.
He added that he expects a strong export demand to continue, “as competing protein prices continue to make chicken the most appealing global option, given its relative affordability.
Sandri also discussed export trends being experienced by the company’s operations in Europe.
While the majority of the meat produced at its European facilities is poultry, Pilgrim’s Europe also produces pork and lamb meat. That product diversification is a positive attribute, he said.
“To that end, we now have over 150, opened 18 traditional markets, and increased our customer base by 53%,” he said.
Avian influenza
The recent activity in the United States with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been limited to the western states where Pilgrim’s does not have operations.
“Nonetheless, we continue to take the necessary precautions to safeguard our farms amid seasonal changes in migratory patterns. The geographical diversification of our production facilities provides flexibility to shift the business, should any isolated commercial outbreaks surface,” he said.
Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene hit North America at the tail end of the third quarter. Sandri noted that all team members were safe, but two facilities were temporarily offline as a result. He said, it was the grower facilities that suffered more significant losses than the company-owned facilities.
A related story on the hurricane’s impact on Pilgrim’s and its growers appears on WATTPoultry.com.