Pilgrim’s Pride edges earnings expectations in Q1

GREELEY — Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (Nasdaq: PPC) beat Wall Street expectations for its first-quarter earnings this year as demand from restaurants improved.

The Greeley-based chicken-packing company reported revenues of $3.27 billion and an adjusted earnings-per-share figure of 41 cents, beating consensus estimates by $10 million and 7 cents, respectively, according to data compiled by finance site Seeking Alpha.

The company’s revenues were $198.5 million more in the period compared with the first quarter of 2020, which included the first weeks of widespread shutdowns as the pandemic set in.

Pilgrim’s attributed the solid results to Mexican sales continuing to improve, along with the highest sales for its restaurant and food-service business since the pandemic began. That increase came from the increase of vaccinations allowing governments to loosen capacity restrictions at in-person dining facilities.

“We expect the strength in the commodity sector to be sustained as we enter the summer grilling season, (when) demand traditionally is strong, and fewer COVID-19 restrictions of the further rollout of vaccinations to drive continued recovery in foodservice,” CEO Fabio Sandri said in a call with analysts Wednesday evening.

However, the company said the inclement weather and “significant” labor shortages were headwinds for its performance in the period.

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