Tyson Stock Drops After Earnings Warning
by March 20, 2001 2:16 pm 81 views
Shares of Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale dropped 4.5 percent today after an earnings warning called for the second-quarter to break even.
Tyson cited costs of a product recall, severe winter weather, higher grain costs and weak pricing as reasons for the warning.
As of 2:12 p.m., shares of Tyson (NYSE: TSN) had fallen 61 cents to $12.86. The stock has traded between $14.62 and $8.50 in the last 52 weeks.
The stock continued to sink after the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee announced today a 1/2-point interest rate cut.
Tyson had forecasted a profit of 6 to 10 cents a share for the quarter, ending March 31. Tyson had earnings of 16 cents during the same period last year.
The Tyson release said second-quarter earnings would include charges of 2 to 3 cents a share relating to a product recall and the divestiture of its North Carolina hog operation.
Severe winter weather will cut earnings by an additional 3 to 4 cents a share, with higher grain costs, higher energy costs and weaker-than-expected pricing also hurting earnings, the company said.
“Sales volumes have remained strong while we have faced the most difficult operating environment we’ve seen since 1981,” John Tyson, president, chairman and CEO of Tyson, said.