Dive Brief:
- Sanderson Farms posted net income of $23.2 million, or $1.02 per share, in the first quarter of 2017, compared to $10.7 million, or $0.47 per share, for the year-ago period, according to a company release.
- Sales for Q1 2017 came in at $688.3 million, compared to $605.2 million for Q1 2016.
- The company said boneless breast meat prices were approximately 4.6% lower, bulk leg quarters increased by nearly 33%, and jumbo wing prices saw a 14% uptick.
Dive Insight:
With net income increasing nearly 50% over the course of a year, Sanderson Farms doesn't appear to have suffered significant negative impact from the death of the Georgia Dock and controversy surrounding its role in the poultry pricing scandal. It also shows that the company's position supporting antibiotics when medically necessary isn't impacting its bottom line.
The poultry industry as a whole has been seeing strong pricing in dark meat products, which helped Sanderson Farms' big numbers for the quarter.
Costs have also gone down, giving the company a boost. The average feed cost per pound of poultry products processed fell 4.9% compared to last year, and prices paid for corn and soybean meal, the company's primary feed ingredients, dropped 4.9% and increased 1.9%, respectively.
Joe F. Sanderson, Jr., chairman and CEO of Sanderson Farms, said the record corn and soybean crops harvested in the U.S. last fall contributed to both products’ balance tables heading into the 2017 planting season.
Not everything was positive in the report, though. The foodservice market decreased, tray pack products dipped slightly and boneless breast meat tracked lower than last year.
Looking ahead, Sanderson expects operations at its new St. Pauls, NC complex, which began in January, to reach full production in the first fiscal quarter of 2018.