Tyson’s chief executive Richard Bond said, “The best thing I can say about fiscal 2006 is, it’s over.”
In spite of this dismal statement, Bond indicated he was very confident about the future, anticipating a profitable first quarter next year.
Investors rallied behind the news, pushing
Tyson Foods shares up 65 cents.
The world’s largest chicken producer said the loss for the fourth quarter was $56 million, compared with a profit of $117 million, during the same period a year earlier. Only pork showed a gain for the fourth-quarter, accounting for 12 percent of sales thanks to lower live animal prices. Tyson Foods’ three other segments, chicken, beef and prepared foods all reported lower results.
Sales in the fourth-quarter were flat at $6.5 billion, Tyson Foods reported.
Analsyts forecast that Tyson Foods will report a loss of 4 cents per share for the fourth-quarter, with slightly lower revenue of $6.47 billion.