July 31, 2007

Brazil's Perdigao second quarter sales up

Brazilian meat and food processing giant Perdigao finished the second quarter this year with gross sales of R$ 1.8 billion (US$957.95 million), posting an increase of 29 percent on-year and registering total growth of 19.7 percent in sales volume of meats, dairy, and other processed products.

In a statement, the company said the increase in sales was due to productivity, the diversification of the company's businesses and the excellent sales performance ensured a favourable operating performance.

EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) reached R$ 166.2 million, 279 per cent higher in comparison with the same quarter in 2006. EBITDA margin increased by 3.7 percent to 10.9 percent.

Exports rose by 29.6 percent in revenues and 13.1 percent in volume, despite the 10.1 percent appreciation of the Real against the US dollar in the period. This performance was the result of adjustments in production processes and increased demand in traditional markets.

Domestic market sales amounted to R$ 1 billion, a rise of 28.3 percent due to intensified consumption of higher value-added products including the consolidation of the dairy-processed products segment.

This combination of positive factors produced an effective gain of 590 basis points in the quarter's gross margin. Gross profits amounted to R$ 411.2 million, a growth of 63.3 percent compared with the same quarter in 2006.

The company posted R$ 70.8 million in net income, equivalent to a net margin of 4.6 percent against a negative result recorded in the second quarter 2006, due to the unfavourable international trading environment at the time.

US$1 = 1.88 Brazilian real (as of July 31, 2007)