April 29, 2009
Brazil's Marfrig highlights limited exposure to pork
Brazilian meatpacker Marfrig Wednesday (April 29) sought to calm investor concerns about its business, releasing a statement highlighting that pork accounted for just 4.2 percent of revenues in the fourth quarter and the threat of a swine flu pandemic will not undermine its business.
Stocks of Brazilian meatpackers have suffered since news of the swine flu outbreak in Mexico surfaced over the weekend.
Marfrig shares were down 1.1 percent at 10.38 Brazilian reals (US$4.70) in early trade on the Brazilian Stock Exchange, or Bovespa, after falling 4.5 percent on Monday.
Marfrig's non-processed pork sales totalled BRL66.5 million in the fourth quarter, of which 58 percent came from exports.
Marfrig gains some 94 percent of its revenues from beef and chicken sales.
Agricultural commodities were recovering from Monday's slump as it became clearer that the spread of the deadly flu was not linked to meat sales.
