Brazil's JBS SA, the world's largest meat producer, has reported a 47.1% drop in quarterly profit, but results still beat analysts' estimates as higher revenues helped offset shrinking margins in its US beef division.
The company posted a third-quarter net profit of 4.01 billion reais (€730 million), while analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected it to land at 3.75 billion reais (€680 million).
Net revenue grew 6.8% to 98.9 billion reais (€18 million), mainly driven by 22.3% sales growth at its brand Seara and its Australian unit, that reported growth of 19.5%.
Gilberto Tomazoni, global CEO of JBS, said, "The performance was made possible by the continued strength and resilience of our globally diversified multi-protein platform, which has mitigated the natural cycles in our business and maintained healthy cash flow, allowing the company to reinvest in its growth and generate shareholder returns in the future.”
Divisional Performance
JBS Beef North America, usually the firm's cash cow, generated revenue of 29.15 billion reais (€5.3 billion), down 4.8% from the previous year.
"As the US beef business margin normalises, we observe a strengthening of the segment in the Brazilian and Australian markets," Tomazoni added.
The beef unit in North America reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 2.52 billion reais (€460 million), a sharp 67.5% decline from a year ago.
The unit's operational profitability, measured by its EBITDA margin, fell 16.7 percentage points to 8.7%.
Net revenue at Pilgrim's Pride amounted to 23.4 billion reais (€4.3 billion) during the quarter, driven by increased demand in North American retail for value-added products and fast-delivery ready meals.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. For more supply chain news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
