Sanderson Farms profitable in fourth quarter
The financial condition of poultry integrator Sanderson Farms’ based in Laurel, Mississippi, USA continues to improve. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, the company finished with a net income for the period that reached $19.8 million.
During the same period in fiscal 2008, the company experienced a net loss of $51.9 million. Sanderson Farms CEO Joe Sanderson Jr. said “Fiscal 2009 was a successful year for Sanderson Farms with a solid performance in our fourth quarter.”
Multi-million investments
“Sales for the year were a record $1.7 billion, up 3.8% over fiscal 2008, reflecting growth in our Waco (Texas) facility, offset by our production cuts earlier in the year.”
The company’s new Kinston (North Carolina) poultry plant will begin production January 2011. The company plans to hire 1,400 employees for the poultry processing plant alone.
The new Kinston complex consists of a new feed mill, poultry processing plant and hatchery. The company spent $3.1 million on in fiscal 2009 and will spend $107 million in fiscal 2010 for the Kinston plant.
For nearly a year, Sanderson Farms delayed its Kinston plant construction plans because of high grain prices nationwide and market uncertainty. The company announced last summer that the construction delay for Kinston was officially over.
New feed mill
The feed mill and hatchery will start operations next summer before the poultry processing plant begins production during January 2011.
Construction for the new feed mill continues at Parrott Dickerson Road where construction workers poured the feed mill’s cement foundation last week. Construction also continues for the new processing plant at US 70.
Sanderson Farms officials said they are considering where and when to build another processing plant nationwide after the Kinston plant is finished.
“We want to wait until the Kinston plant is done,” Sanderson said. “The Kinston plant is not going to be the last plant we build.”
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