Revenue, Income Up at Tyson Foods

Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc. on July 26 reported third-quarter earnings of $161 million, up 50 percent from the $79 million it reported during the same quarter last year. Third quarter sales totaled $6.6 billion, compared to $6.3 billion at the same time last year. Operating income grew 37 percent to $323 million.

The third quarter, which ended June 26, showed a 48 percent increase in diluted earnings per share of 45 cents, compared to 23 cents during the same period last year. That beat Thomson First Call’s consensus estimate of 36 cents per share.

Tyson predicted diluted EPS for the fourth-quarter will fall between $1.20 to $1.30.

Beef segment sales were $2.9 billion, dipping 5 percent from sales of $3.1 billion during the same quarter last year. International beef sales were down 43.5 percent in the third quarter, and case-ready beef sales grew 13.1 percent. Although international beef sales were down 26 percent, total beef sales for the first nine months of 2004 remain up 1.7 percent over the same period in 2003.

Chicken sales increased 11 percent to $2.12 billion, and pork sales rose by 23 percent to $828 million. For the first nine months of fiscal 2004, chicken sales were up 9.5 percent and pork sales increased 20 percent.

“We generated record sales and net income in spite of higher grains, raw material costs and limited access to export markets,” John Tyson, chairman and CEO of Tyson Foods, said in a prepared statement. “Our pricing and mix of value-added products improved, and our strong cash flow put us on target to reach the lower end of our debt goal by the end of the fiscal year.”

Overall diluted earnings of 94 cents per share for the first nine months of fiscal 2004 were 42 percent higher than the same period last year, and sales of $19.3 billion compared favorably to $18 billion in the comparable period. Operating income for the first nine months of fiscal 2004 was $747 million, up 29 percent from the same period last year.