Smithfield posts $103 million loss in third quarter
“In spite of the fact that we’re reporting a $100 million loss, I’m actually a little bit pleased. The results of much of the business came in better than I thought it would,” said Larry Pope, president and CEO of Smithfield, said in a conference call this morning. “The parts of the business that we’re in a position to manage, I think we’re doing an excellent job of in positioning ourselves. As the hog market and corn market turned in the opposite direction over the last year, we are in a position to perform very well going forward.”
Pope pointed out that hog production continued to be a driver of the negative results, thanks to higher corn costs and an oversupply of hogs on the market from last fall. Smithfield’s success stories for the quarter were its fresh meats and packaged meats, which Pope noted had record margins in the quarter. The export market also did very well, with strong showings in Mexico, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia and Russia.