Sanderson Farms posts Q4 poultry profits
US poultry producer, Sanderson Farms, has posted higher than expected results for Q4 as market prices helped in easing the burden of increased feed costs.
Sanderson has seen its profits knocked by record-high prices for corn and soybeans, which form the bulk of its poultry feed. The company paid 12% more for corn during the latest period, and soybean meal costs were up 40%. Like others in the industry, Sanderson reduced its chicken production earlier this year, which has led to gains in chicken prices.
For the quarter ended Oct. 31, Sanderson Farms reported a profit of $9.3 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with a loss of $21.6 million, or 97 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales jumped 16% to $648.4 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast per-share earnings of 32 cents on revenue of $636 million.
