November 15, 2006

Brazil's Perdigao's profit plunges

Brazilian meatpacker Perdigao SA (PDA) late Monday posted a third quarter net profit of US$21.4 million Brazilian real (US$9.86 million), down sharply from 96.6 million (US$45 million) in the third quarter of 2005.

Perdigao's net profit has been declining all year due to the impact of bird flu in Europe, Asia and Africa. Lower consumption of poultry in those regions has meant lower exports for Perdigao.  

Despite the reduction in its net profit, Perdigao said its third quarter results represent a recovery from the weak performance seen in the first half of 2006.

In the third quarter, Paerdigao posted net operating revenue of 1.34 billion real, up 4.1 percent from 1.28 billion real a year earlier.

"That performance was driven mainly by domestic sales," Perdigao said in a statement.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, dropped dramatically in the period to 88.1 million real compared with 157.9 million real in the same quarter a year earlier.