6-16 news: Smithfield's Q4 loss better than expected
"Fiscal 2009 was one of the most challenging years in over three decades for the company,” said C. Larry Pope, CEO. “We faced grain and oil markets that reached record highs and then fell precipitously. These input dynamics, combined with an oversupply of all proteins as well as a worldwide recession and credit constraints, put significant pressure on the business. But despite the challenges we confronted, we did not sit on the sidelines and wait for the economic conditions to improve; we have taken numerous actions to make us a more profitable company: namely, we repositioned the company's operations and made meaningful improvements to our liquidity and financial strength. As a result, I am especially pleased with our packaged meats business which delivered record profits even as fresh pork was weak in the face of an economic downturn. For the full year, the pork segment produced record profits, before the $88 million of restructuring costs, and is set to deliver very strong results going forward.”
The company said that the fallout from the H1N1 virus scare only caused a temporary affect on U.S. demand, which hurt the company last month but has leveled off since. Export issues related to the virus remain a problem, however. "Unfortunately, we continue to experience restrictions in some international markets, specifically China, which is negatively impacting exports in the first quarter of fiscal 2010," Pope said.