GREELEY, COLO. — Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.’s disciplined diversification strategy paired with continued operational excellence have reaped their reward in the second quarter ended June 30. The company reported a profit of $326.5 million, equal to $1.37 per share on the common stock, up exceedingly by 436% from $60.9 million, or 25¢, from the same period last year.
Pilgrim’s posted a more modest but still significant jump of 5.8% in net sales from $4.3 billion in 2023 to $4.6 billion this year.
“Our global portfolio delivered significant year-over-year profitability growth,” said Fabio Sandri, president and chief executive officer of Pilgrim’s. “We remained disciplined in the execution of our strategies, focusing on what we can control and continuing to expand our relationships with key customers, elevating our performance as market fundamentals became increasingly attractive.”
Within the United States, the company’s Big Bird business benefited from enhanced commodity cutout values, further production efficiencies and lower input costs. Small Bird also grew, given increased demand from key customers in QSR (quick-service restaurant) and deli.
Differentiated and customized offerings helped Case Ready deliver above market growth as well.
As for Prepared Foods, Pilgrim’s saw success from further diversifying its portfolio through increased distribution of branded offerings and innovations across retail and foodservice.
“Our diversified US portfolio enabled our business to capture market upside as conditions evolved in the commodity market,” Sandri said. “At the same time, we also worked in partnership with our key customers to cultivate demand through promotional activity and innovation, further creating value for our customers and consumers alike. We also continued to strengthen our quality and service through operational excellence.”
Pilgrim’s completed a protein conversion plant in south Georgia in March and said the ramp up of production has remained on schedule as well as cultivated additional business.
“Our investment in protein conversion reinforces our strategies to drive profitable growth and mitigates our operational risk,” Sandri said. “We will continue to explore opportunities to strengthen our business and further diversify our portfolio.”
In Europe, consumer sentiment improved as wage growth surpassed inflation. Pilgrim’s diversified portfolio allowed it to meet the needs of consumers ready to exercise their wallets a little more liberally.
Pilgrim’s branded business grew by 7% compared to the previous year, Sandri noted in an earnings call on Aug. 1.
“Europe’s performance demonstrates the robust nature of our strategies and agility of our team,” he said. “Our diversified portfolio allowed us to rapidly adjust to consumer preferences and meet key customer needs. These efforts were further amplified by continued operational excellence to improve production efficiencies.”
Rounding out Pilgrim’s strong performance in Q2 was improvement in its Mexico operations. Several factors contributed to its results, including continued balance in supply and demand fundamentals, growth across retail and foodservice, and momentum gained in Pilgrim’s Fresh and Prepared business segments.
Following the positive postings, Pilgrim’s still sees potential for more growth in Mexico.
“Given our investments to expand production, we have an opportunity to further develop our marketplace presence and diversify our portfolio,” Sandri said.