February 18, 2008

Hormel Foods reports 17-percent increase of Q1 profits

Hormel Foods said its fiscal first quarter profits have increased by 17 percent as meat costs declined.

Hormel stated that its net income is US$88.2 million or 64 cents a share, up from US$75.3 million or 54 cents a share on-year.

The company has benefitted from low pork costs due to increased production but slowing export demand. US pork production has increased by 10 percent to 1.97 billion pounds while hog futures during the quarter were 6.9 percent lower on average than a year before.

Hormel chief executive officer Jeffrey Ettinger expressed his confidence that the abundance in hog numbers would last through the second quarter.

Sales have risen by 7.8 percent to US$1.62 billion. Hormel's chilled foods saw a 50-percent increase to US$62.8 million.

Meanwhile, Hormel's shares have raised US$1.51 to US$40.39, a 3.9-percent increase.