Hormel Foods '09 earnings increase 17 percent

Hormel Foods Corp. earnings increased 17 percent during fiscal 2009, with net income in the year ended September 25 at US$342.8 million, equal to US$2.55 per share on the common stock, up from US$285.5 million in fiscal 2008.

Sales for the year were US$6.53 billion, a decline when compared with the previous year when the company sales were US$6.75 billion.

The company earnings for the fourth quarter also improved. Net income was US$103.8 million, or 78 cents per share, up from US$67.8 million, or 50 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

The company chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer Jeffrey M. Ettinger says all five business segments contributed to its third consecutive strong quarter, generating a 54-percent increase in EPS. and a 17-percent increase in segment operating profit.