Yahoo Finance Brazil Chicken Supplier BRF Sees Profit Triple as Costs Fall
(Bloomberg) -- BRF SA, one of the world’s largest chicken suppliers, surged to the highest since 2022 as lower costs and higher prices led to better-than-expected quarterly profits.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Americans Are Racking Up ‘Phantom Debt’ That Wall Street Can’t Track
Stormy Daniels Will Return to Court in Test of Trump’s Demeanor
Microsoft’s Xbox Is Planning More Cuts After Studio Closings
The profit beat underscores BRF’s recovery after two straight years of losses amid surging costs and a supply glut. Chicken producers globally are benefiting from a decline in prices for the grains used to feed their birds at the same time as consumer demand is rebounding.
BRF, which produces everything from hams and sausages to frozen pizza, has also embarked on a plan to slash costs and boost efficiency across its operations.
The stock jumped as much as 11% in São Paulo, to the highest level since April 2022. It was the biggest gainer in Brazil’s benchmark stock index.
Profits before items such as interest and taxes in the three-month period ended in March more than tripled from a year earlier to 2.1 billion Brazilian reais ($414 million), the company said in a filing Tuesday. That exceeded the 1.7 billion-real average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
The result was a seasonal record, and reflect a change in the company fundamentals, Chief Executive Officer Miguel Gularte said in an interview. The company said it has seen a price recovery in almost all its regions.
BRF is controlled by meat giant Marfrig Global Foods SA, and counts Saudi Arabia’s state-owned fund Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co. among its shareholders. Marfrig shares jumped as much as 7.9%.
BRF’s net debt fell to less than 1.5 times Ebitda to the lowest level in eight years. With the reduced debt burden, the company now has the capacity to evaluate growth opportunities, CFO Fabio Mariano said in the same interview.
Fitch Ratings earlier this month upgraded its credit ratings on BRF, citing the outlook for improved chicken demand.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
