GREELEY, Colo., Feb. 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) reports fourth quarter and year-end 2018 financial results.
2018 Highlights
- Adjusted Operating Income margins of 4.2% in U.S., 8.8% in Mexico and 4.3% in Europe operations, respectively.
- Adjusted EBITDA of $798 million, or a 7.3% margin.
- Portfolio strategy and geographic diversification reducing the impact of challenging market conditions, specifically in U.S. commodity chicken. We remain motivated to pursue additional growth potential and product differentiation in 2019, aligning our strategic priorities to continue providing stronger platforms for the future.
- Prepared Foods grew 15% in the U.S. and 33% in Mexico, and is increasing its momentum, realizing the results of investments made over the past few years to further widen our product and brand portfolio, strengthen key customer relationships, and improve margin consistency.
- Moy Park integration is better than expected; operations and profitability improving with synergies captured despite headwinds from feed costs caused by regional drought.
Fourth Quarter Results
- Net Sales of $2.66 billion, -3.1% versus same quarter last year.
- Adjusted Net Income of $21 million and adjusted EPS of $0.09.
- Adjusted Operating Income margins of 0.3% in U.S., 5.3% in Mexico and 3.8% in Europe operations, respectively, adjusted for non-recurring items related to weather events, Moy Park acquisition and Exchange Rate.
- Adjusted EBITDA of $111 million, or a 4.2% margin.
"In the U.S. we endured a very challenging environment in commodity chicken, slower than expected recovery from weather disruptions at some complexes, partially offset by an improvement in operating results from Prepared Foods. In Europe we improved the performance through expected synergies but were impacted by higher feed inputs as a result of a drought that will be passed to our prices in coming quarters. Our Mexican operations produced a very strong first half, a weaker than seasonal Q3, followed by a rebound in Q4. The diversity of our portfolio of bird sizes, geographical market exposure, our culture and our people, are what fundamentally differentiate us from the competition, giving us the potential to reduce volatility and generate higher margins over time, and the results for 2018 represented the power of that strategy. As we begin 2019, conditions in the U.S. commodity markets including exports are already recovering, supporting OECD-FAO data that over the longer term chicken as a protein will continue to outperform in terms of growth potential globally," stated Bill Lovette, Chief Executive Officer of Pilgrim's.
Conference Call Information
A conference call to discuss Pilgrim's quarterly results will be held tomorrow, February 14, at 7:00 a.m. MT (9 a.m. ET). Participants are encouraged to pre-register for the conference call using the link below. Callers who pre-register will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator. Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time.
To pre-register, go to: https://services.choruscall.com/links/ppc190214.html
You may also reach the pre-registration link by logging in through the investor section of our website at www.pilgrims.com and clicking on the link under "Upcoming Events."
For those who would like to join the call but have not pre-registered, access is available by dialing +1 (844) 883-3889 within the US, or +1 (412) 317-9245 internationally, and requesting the "Pilgrim's Pride Conference." Please note that to submit a question to management during the call, you must be logged in via telephone.
Replays of the conference call will be available on Pilgrim's website approximately two hours after the call concludes and can be accessed through the "Investor" section of www.pilgrims.com. The webcast will be available for replay through May 14, 2019.
About Pilgrim's Pride
Forward-Looking Statements
PILGRIM'S PRIDE CORPORATION
Selected Financial Information
(Unaudited)
The summary unaudited consolidated income statement data for the twelve months ended December 30, 2018 (the LTM Period) have been calculated by summing each of the unaudited thirteen week periods within the audited fifty-two week period ended December 30, 2018.
A reconciliation of GAAP operating income to adjusted operating income is as follows:
A reconciliation of net income (loss) attributable to Pilgrim's Pride Corporation per common diluted share to adjusted net income (loss) attributable to Pilgrim's Pride Corporation per common diluted share is as follows:
A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures. Net income (loss) per share is calculated by dividing the net income (loss) attributable to Pilgrim's Pride Corporation stockholders by the weighted average number of diluted shares.
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