March 14, 2011

 

Smithfield Foods' third-quarter earnings climb

 

 

Smithfield Foods (SFD) Inc. has reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 84 cents per share on revenues of US$3.19 billion, beating Wall Street-forecasted earnings of 69 cents per share on revenues of US$3.13 billion.

 

Smithfield, the world's biggest hog producer, said on Thursday (Mar 10) that strong pork demand and tight supplies helped its quarterly results. Smithfield Foods credited higher average unit selling prices in the pork segment and increased live hog market prices.

 

The company also said that its growth, like other food producers, was paced by sales in countries like China and India that have growing middle classes that demand higher quality food. The third-quarter is typically the weakest for hog producers, but Smithfied said that high demand and tight supplies led to the gains. Shares rose 1.6% to 22.38.