August 12, 2010

Seaboard earnings soar on pork recovery

Higher sales and profits in Seaboard Corp.'s pork segment led to a significant overall improvement in its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2010.

The company's net earnings for the second quarter were US$77.6 million, nearly three times the results for the same period in 2009, when Seaboard reported US$26.9 million in net earnings. Net sales for the period were US$1.05 billion, up 20.5 % over the same period a year earlier.

For the six months, Seaboard's net earnings were US$140.4 million, a 227% jump over net earnings for the same period last year. Total net sales were US$2.07 billion, compared with US$1.8 billion in 2009, an increase of 15%.

The increases primarily reflected an increase in sale prices for pork products and higher pork segment margins, as well as increased commodities trading volumes and improved results fin the company's marine segment, Seaboard said in notes to its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the pork segment specifically, Seaboard reported net sales of US$348.3 million for the quarter and US$666.2 million for the first half, increases of 28.9% and 25%, respectively. The segment's operating income for the quarter was US$58.6 million, compared with operating income of just US$4 million for the second quarter in 2009. For the first half, the segment turned in an operating profit of US$85 million, compared with an operating loss of US$13.1 million a year ago.