WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Due to continued strong performance by its beef and pork segments, Tyson Foods Inc.(TSN) said that it is still on track to deliver the second-best annual earnings per share, despite depressed chicken pricing, input costs at or near record levels and a sluggish economy. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $1.94 per share for fiscal 2011. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
To illustrate the turnaround in Tyson's chicken business since 2008, the company said the chicken segment's 1% return on sales would have been nearly 10% had it not been for $250 million in additional grain and feed ingredient costs in the company's fiscal third-quarter 2011 vs. third-quarter 2010, and holding other factors equal. That would have been a record quarter, despite unusually low chicken prices, the company said.
Tyson noted that it will continue reinvesting in operational efficiencies to further improve the chicken segment's cost structure and competitive position, much like it did with its beef and pork segments.
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