October 24, 2006

Poultry producer Industrias Bachoco hit by lower sales
 

Mexican poultry producer and processor Industrias Bachoco SA de CV said its third quarter earnings per share plummeted, as sales of chicken and swine declined.

The company posted third quarter net income of 277.1 million pesos.

The company's net sales for the quarter came in at Ps. 3,576.2 million, down 6.7 percent on-year, as profits from chicken sales fell 12.9 percent and swine sales fell 10.5 percent.

However, sales of its balanced feed increased 34.5 percent to 9.58 million pesos on-year.

During the third quarter, the company's gross profit was Ps. 733.8 million, a 6.9 percent margin and EBITDA reached Ps. 377.2 million, a margin of 10.5 percent .

The third quarter is historically the weakest of the year for the company, so the results this quarter were in line with expectations, Cristobal Mondragon, CEO said.

Mondragon added that the profits were helped by the fact that the cost of raw materials was stable for most of the quarter.

The company is focusing on demand for its value-added products, which it believes have significant growth potential in Mexico.