December 5, 2008

Sanderson Farms has reported a net loss of US$51.9 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of US$24.1 million, for the fourth quarter that ended October 31, 2008.

Net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 were US$460.2 million compared with US$426.9 million for the same period a year ago.

Net sales for fiscal 2008 were US$1.7 billion compared with US$1.47 billion for fiscal 2007. However, the net loss for the year totalled US$43.1 million compared with a net income of US$78.8 million last year.

Sanderson Farms was affected by a decline in demand for chicken products, partly due to the economy slowdown, resulting in weak market prices for white meat, said Joe Sanderson, the company's chairman and CEO.

Like all other chicken producers, Sanderson Farms was hurt by high feed costs. Cash market prices for corn and soymeal delivered to the company increased 43.5 percent and 51.7 percent, respectively, from the fourth quarter of 2007. For this fiscal year, Sanderson Farms also faced a 29.8 percent and 48.4-percent increase in corn and soymeal prices, respectively.

Sanderson Farms, Inc. is engaged in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of fresh and frozen chicken and other prepared food items.