8-27 news: Smithfield CEO addresses difficult year at shareholder meeting
The company has closed plants, renegotiated debt, sold assets and reduced its hog herd in the past year, Reuters reports. Nevertheless, Pope told shareholders, "We are structurally strong and have a strong balance sheet. As of today, this company can write a check for $1 billion and the check will clear." He also said that the pork and packaged meats businesses were doing well and predicted very positive results for the packaged meat results in the upcoming quarterly earnings.
Pope told Reuters that the pork industry will continue to suffer from an oversupply of livestock, and that Smithfield's hog unit will likely lose money through its current fiscal year, which ends in April, 2010. In June, the company reported a loss of $190 million for its fiscal year ending May 3, which was the first time that had happened since 1975.