UPDATE: Tyson Foods Beats Q1 Expectations, Shares Rise

Shares of

rose more than 3% in pre-market trading after the company posted upbeat results for its fiscal first quarter. The Springdale, Arkansas-based company posted a quarterly profit of $309 million, or $0.74 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $254 million, or $0.72 per share. Excluding items, the company earned $0.77 per share. Its sales climbed 23.5% to $10.82 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.73 per share on revenue of $10.4 billion. Tyson's chicken segment sales surged 4.7% to $2.78 billion, while beef sales rose 17.6% to $4.39 billion. Pork sales surged 8.1% to $1.54 billion, while prepared-food sales jumped to $2.13 billion. "Tyson's fiscal year is off to a great start with our first full quarter as a combined company producing record sales and adjusted operating income," said Donnie Smith, president and chief executive officer of Tyson Foods. "We used our strong cash flows to pay down debt by $650 million in the quarter. Tyson also reaffirmed its earnings forecast for the full year. Tyson shares rose 2.59% to $41.25 in pre-market trading.