Pilgrim’s Pride reports strong Q3 results

Pilgrim’s Pride has announced strong quarter three results with net income for the trading quarter amounting to US$232.7m.

It posted consolidated net sales of US$2.79bn, which represented a 37.4% jump on the corresponding quarter last year.

The company said the acquisition of Northern Ireland’s Moy Park positioned it as the global leaders in chicken and prepared foods.

It said the purchase of Moy Park in September for £1bn aligned with its strategic priorities while providing a strong platform for growth. Moy Park has about 6,300 staff working at three sites across the country – Craigavon, Ballymena and Dungannon.

Currently, Pilgrim’s Pride has a workforce of 52,000 staff and operates in 14 states in the United States, as well as Puerto Rico, Mexico, the UK, Ireland and continental Europe.

Bill Lovette, Pilgrim’s chief executive officer, said: “We closed the acquisition of Moy Park last September and are very excited about the potential opportunities in Europe because it creates a stronger, more diverse and more stable global chicken and prepared foods leader in Pilgrim’s.

“The new European operations align with our strategic priorities as we continue expanding our geographical and brands footprint, and extending our global poultry leadership position into attractive new markets while providing us a strong platform for future growth in the region.”

Mr Lovette said operations during the trading quarter were robust across the US while Mexico performed extremely well.

“The results once again demonstrated the strength and diversity of our portfolio of bird sizes, and is what fundamentally differentiates us from the competition, giving us the potential to reduce volatility and high margins over time. Despite greater availability of alternative protein, we saw strong demand for chicken during grilling season and we expect a continuation of chicken as a choice premium in domestic and international markets,” he added.