GREELEY, Colo., Oct. 30, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ: PPC) reports third quarter 2019 financial results.

Third Quarter Highlights

• Net Sales of $2.78 billion.
• Net Income of $109.8 million.
• Operating Income margins of 6.5% in U.S., 11.5% in Mexico and 4.9% in Europe operations, respectively.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $258.4 million (or a 9.3% margin), and Adjusted EPS of $0.45.
• U.S portfolio generated an improved performance due to our differentiated strategy. Demand in less commoditized segment remained strong while pure commodity was significantly better year on year but weaker than last quarter. We continue to evolve our well-balanced portfolio to further differentiate our products and brands, strengthen Key Customer relationships, and deliver operational improvements.
• Q3 in Mexico was in-line with normal seasonality and stronger than last year. Growth in our branded products and prepared foods continue to create portfolio differentiation in the region.
• European operations continuing to mitigate the impact of input cost challenges and already achieved better results than last year. Addition of Tulip team will further enhance our position as a leading global player by expanding our portfolio of prepared foods and brands in the UK, and present opportunities for synergies.

“After a challenging Q3 2018 within the U.S. pure commodity market, conditions during Q3 of this year were much improved. The environment in non-commodity chicken was in-line with seasonality and remained strong, driven by demand from retailers and QSRs. We remain committed to our Key Customer strategy, which is the basis for our growth. Revenues from Key Customers have more than doubled over the past eight years, and we will continue to support their growth. We are investing to further differentiate our portfolio, and increase our capacities and capabilities to meet customer expectations. We expect value added, differentiated products to account for a significantly larger portion of our total results over the next few years as we continue to reduce our mix of more volatile commodity sales and improve our margin profile,” stated Jayson Penn, Chief Executive Officer of Pilgrim's.

“Mexico was in-line with normal seasonality and significantly better than last year. We expect to generate improved performance for the remainder of 2019 as demand continues to grow. Our Prepared Foods have continued to increase at a double digit rate and are generating great results under both premium Pilgrim’s and Del Dia brands to drive the evolution of our Mexican portfolio towards more differentiated, higher-value products and margin expansion.”

“Our European operations have continued to make progress in mitigating input cost challenges, and are already generating better results throughout Q3. Despite seasonally cooler weather, improvements in operational efficiencies, and better integration of input costs into customer pricing models drove the improvement in performance. We expect a continuation of the momentum into Q4.”

“The addition of the Tulip team further enhances our position as a leading global player by expanding our portfolio of prepared foods and brands while strengthening our leadership position in the UK market. It aligns with our strategic priorities as we continue growing our geographical footprint and extending our global reach into attractive new markets.”

Conference Call Information

A conference call to discuss Pilgrim’s quarterly results will be held tomorrow, October 31, at 7:00 a.m. MT (9 a.m. ET). Participants are encouraged to pre-register for the conference call using the link below. Callers who pre-register will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator. Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time.

To pre-register, go to: https://services.choruscall.com/links/ppc191031.html

You may also reach the pre-registration link by logging in through the investor section of our website at www.pilgrims.com and clicking on the link under “Upcoming Events.”

For those who would like to join the call but have not pre-registered, access is available by dialing +1 (844) 883-3889 within the US, or +1 (412) 317-9245 internationally, and requesting the “Pilgrim’s Pride Conference.” Please note that to submit a question to management during the call, you must be logged in via telephone.

Replays of the conference call will be available on Pilgrim’s website approximately two hours after the call concludes and can be accessed through the “Investor” section of www.pilgrims.com. The webcast will be available for replay through February 1, 2020.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s employs approximately 58,850 people and operates chicken processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 14 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the U.K, Ireland and continental Europe. The Company’s primary distribution is through retailers and foodservice distributors. For more information, please visit www.pilgrims.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that state the intentions, plans, hopes, beliefs, anticipations, expectations or predictions of the future of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and its management are considered forward-looking statements. It is important to note that actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements include: matters affecting the poultry industry generally; the ability to execute the Company’s business plan to achieve desired cost savings and profitability; future pricing for feed ingredients and the Company’s products; outbreaks of avian influenza or other diseases, either in Pilgrim’s Pride’s flocks or elsewhere, affecting its ability to conduct its operations and/or demand for its poultry products; contamination of Pilgrim’s Pride’s products, which has previously and can in the future lead to product liability claims and product recalls; exposure to risks related to product liability, product recalls, property damage and injuries to persons, for which insurance coverage is expensive, limited and potentially inadequate; management of cash resources; restrictions imposed by, and as a result of, Pilgrim’s Pride’s leverage; changes in laws or regulations affecting Pilgrim’s Pride’s operations or the application thereof; new immigration legislation or increased enforcement efforts in connection with existing immigration legislation that cause the costs of doing business to increase, cause Pilgrim’s Pride to change the way in which it does business, or otherwise disrupt its operations; competitive factors and pricing pressures or the loss of one or more of Pilgrim’s Pride’s largest customers; currency exchange rate fluctuations, trade barriers, exchange controls, expropriation and other risks associated with foreign operations; disruptions in international markets and distribution channel, including anti-dumping proceedings and countervailing duty proceedings; and the impact of uncertainties of litigation as well as other risks described under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

PILGRIM’S PRIDE CORPORATION
Selected Financial Information
(Unaudited)

“EBITDA” is defined as the sum of net income (loss) plus interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. “Adjusted EBITDA” is calculated by adding to EBITDA certain items of expense and deducting from EBITDA certain items of income that we believe are not indicative of our ongoing operating performance consisting of: (i) income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests, (ii) restructuring charges, (iii) reorganization items, (iv) losses on early extinguishment of debt and (v) foreign currency transaction losses (gains). EBITDA is presented because it is used by management and we believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties, in addition to and not in lieu of results prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the US (“GAAP”), to compare the performance of companies. We believe investors would be interested in our Adjusted EBITDA because this is how our management analyzes EBITDA. The Company also believes that Adjusted EBITDA, in combination with the Company’s financial results calculated in accordance with GAAP, provides investors with additional perspective regarding the impact of certain significant items on EBITDA and facilitates a more direct comparison of its performance with its competitors. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measurements of financial performance under GAAP. They should not be considered as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities or as a measure of liquidity or an alternative to net income as indicators of our operating performance or any other measures of performance derived in accordance with GAAP.

The summary unaudited consolidated income statement data for the twelve months ended September 29, 2019 (the LTM Period) have been calculated by subtracting the applicable unaudited consolidated income statement data for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 from the sum of (1) the applicable audited consolidated income statement data for the year ended December 30, 2018 and (2) the applicable audited consolidated income statement data for the nine months ended September 29, 2019.

EBITDA margins have been calculated by taking the relevant unaudited EBITDA figures, then dividing by Net Revenue for the applicable period.

A reconciliation of net income (loss) attributable to Pilgrim's Pride Corporation per common diluted share to adjusted net income (loss) attributable to Pilgrim's Pride Corporation per common diluted share is as follows:

A reconciliation of GAAP earnings per share (EPS) to adjusted earnings per share (EPS) is as follows: