Smithfield, VA - Smithfield Foods Inc said that despite a relatively weak first quarter, and despite its lack of profitability in its hog production sector, it believe that its second and third quarters will be strong.
Smithfield earlier reported a first quarter operating diluted loss of $0.14, down sharply from last year's $0.15 profit. Last year's first quarter operating results exclude a $0.32 share charge from lawsuit civil penalties, which have been appealed by the company.
The company said the first quarter is always its most difficult quarter financially.
Smithfield's Hog Production Group suffered a substantial reversal from its high level of profitability in last year's first quarter.
The quarter-to-quarter swing in profitability reflected sharply lower hog prices in the 1999 fiscal quarter compared to those in the same quarter of fiscal 1998, the company said.
“Despite a relatively weak first quarter, wich is always our most difficult, and despite the lack of profitability in the hog production sector of our business, we believe that our next two quarters will be strong,” chairman and chief executive Joseph Luter said in a press release.
“However, as we have said many times, Smithfield Foods is in an industry that is commodity related and will, from time-to-time, experience blips in quarterly results. But, as we stated in our recent Annual Report to Shareholders, our long-term strategic plan is firmly in place and we remain very optimistic about our future,”
Smithfield Foods is a vertically integrated producer and marketer of fresh pork and processed meats in the U.S.
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