JBS reports growth in all divisions for third quarter

GREELEY — Despite tight cattle supplies in the United States, global meatpacker JBS reported a net profit of $693 million for the third quarter, elevated in part by massive third quarter growth in its chicken division.

JBS has beef, chicken and pork divisions throughout the globe, including Canada, Brazil, Australia and the United Kingdom.

JBS, with a beef packing plant and its U.S. headquarters in Greeley, grew its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, by 13.9% to $2.2 billion from the second quarter of the year, and by 94.3% from the same time last year, according to the company’s earnings release. The company also was able to reduce its debt by $1 billion to $13.7 billion.

“With our global footprint, the expertise of our team, ongoing innovation and a commitment to excellence, JBS is primed to continue delivering value to our customers, consumers, and stakeholders alike,” the earnings report stated.

Its U.S. beef division almost tripled its adjusted earnings from the second quarter of the year to $117.3 million, growing 13.9% from the same time last year. The company reported in its earnings release that higher cattle prices put pressure on its earnings.

“Initiatives underway include improving pricing, optimizing the product mix, increasing yield per carcass, and increasing manufacturing efficiency, among others,” the earnings release stated. “All of these actions are essential to face this more challenging cycle.”

Its chicken division, Pilgrim’s Pride, which includes sales in the United Kingdom and Mexico, recorded adjusted earnings of $775.9 million, up 72.5% from the same time last year. Pilgrim’s Pride headquarters also are based in Greeley.

“In the United States, profitability benefited from high demand, improvements in production efficiencies and lower input costs,” according to its earnings release. “Furthermore, the chicken portfolio grew above the market due to the partnership with key customers through differentiated and customized offers. The prepared foods category expanded its market presence, with increased distribution in retail and foodservice.”

The company’s U.S. pork division recorded $246.7 million in adjusted earnings, up 17.9 percent from the same time last year. Officials reported that the growth was a result of higher sales, which were in part driven by the high price of beef.

“Our U.S. pork division has been outperforming the market for a while here now, and they’ve been performing pretty well,” Wesley Batista Filho, CEO of JBS USA, said in the company’s earnings call Thursday. “There are a few things that really help us get there. Out of our five pork facilities in the U.S., four of them are large double-shift plants that are very well invested, and they’re just very, very efficient. We see this business continuing to have solid performance like we’ve seen into next year.”

The company also noted that USDA data shows a 9% increase in sales of pork exports, especially to Mexico, South Korea and Colombia.

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