May 18, 2011
Marfrig attains best ever quarterly earnings
Marfrig attained a rise of 64% in net revenue in the first quarter of this year in contrast to the same period of 2010, due to gains in its Brazilian beef business and enhancing Uruguayan, SEARA and Keystone operations.
Marfrig Alimentos S.A. has reported results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2011.
Marfrig produced its best performance to date for the first quarter revenue despite a highly challenging global backdrop after Beef Brazil and Seara drove market share gains in our core Brazil market. Seara synergies, Keystone Foods, Beef Brasil and Europe performances, cost-cutting measures and the ability to offset cost increases partly helped Marfrig to balance higher grain prices and the impact of accrued interest on net profit.
For the quarter, net revenue totalled BRL5.25 billion (US$3.25 billion), up 64.3% from 2010's Q1 BRL3.2 billion (US$2 billion) and a 1.2% decrease versus 2010's Q4 BRL5.32 billion (US$3.29 billion), despite seasonal weakness typically seen in the first quarter.
Gross income was BRL728.8 million (US$450.3 million), up 33.4% on 2010's Q1 BRL546.3 million (US$337.5 million), from BRL851.8 million (US$526.3 million) 2010's Q4, while net profit totalled BRL25.2 million (US$15.6 million) versus a loss of BRL52 million (US$32.1 million) in 2010's Q1.
Marfrig unveiled two joint-ventures in China with the country's leading food producers.
Value-added products and specialty dishes were 37.1% of consolidated revenues versus 25.1% in 2010's Q1.
Beef exports grew, reaching 25.4% of total Brazilian beef exports in March versus 17.3% in February, according to SECEX (Foreign Trade Secretariat of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Brazil).
In May 2011, Marfrig issued its tightest-ever coupon and yield after building a record US$5 billion book for its upsized US$750 million 8.375% coupon seven-year bond. The result lowers Marfrig's average rate of interest on its debt, helping it build a new tighter debt curve going forward
CEO and founder, Marcos Molina, commented "Marfrig enjoyed its best-ever first-quarter revenue performance during what is seasonally the slowest quarter of the year. We continued to build revenues in a challenging environment around the world and extending our reach through a local presence in several countries to achieve synergies among our divisions.
"Our top line result demonstrates our ability to cope in the toughest conditions. Our strategy is to ensure we continue to balance the effects of grain on customer prices, control working capital, improve cash flow and keep increasing our offer of high-quality products and specialty dishes," he said.
