SÃO PAULO, Brazil – JBS S.A. reported a net loss of R911.1 million in the second quarter driven by currency-related charges and an 11-day strike by Brazilian truck drivers.

Adjusted net income for the second quarter was R$2,998.3 million excluding the non-cash effect from currency variances.

Net revenue for the most recent quarter advanced 8.4 percent to R45,175.6 million. The company said approximately 75 percent of global sales came from markets where the company operates, while 25 percent of global sales came from exports.

On a segment basis, revenue in the company’s Seara unit declined by 5.4 percent to R4 billion in spite of intense efforts throughout the chain to minimize operational impacts, the company said. The strike generated a loss of R112.9 million for Seara during the quarter.

“Domestic poultry prices were under pressure as a result of incremental supply in Brazil and higher input costs.” Investor Relations Officer Jerry O’Callaghan said during an earnings call with analysts on Aug. 15. “The devaluation of the real during the period April to June, boosted exports which partially offset the higher costs.”

Higher grain costs, mainly corn and soybean, weighed on the Seara business, according to JBS. A portion of the cost increases was passed on to sales prices.

“We continue to focus on profitability through innovation, product mix and costs passed through in our pricing, particularly in Brazil,” O’Callaghan said.

In a securities filing, the company noted that “It is expected that corn prices remain at higher levels, mainly as a result of a smaller harvest in Brazil, signaling a need for additional sales price adjustments.”

JBS Brazil, which includes the company’s beef, leather and related business, posted net revenue of R5,815.9 million, down 6 percent compared with the second quarter of 2017. The company attributed the result to the sale of the company’s beef operations in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay in June 2017.

Excluding the assets sold, JBS Brazil net revenue increased by 7 percent with a 17.5 percent growth in the number of animals processed compared to the year-ago quarter.

“This quarter’s highlight was fresh beef, which grew by 12.8 percent in revenue, due to 16.4 percent higher volumes domestically,” the company said. “Export results were even greater, with a 33.7 percent growth in revenue, 17.1 percent higher volumes and 14.2 percent higher sales prices, the latter being positively impacted by the real devaluation.”

In the JBS USA Beef segment, which includes Australia and Canada, net revenue climbed 1.3 percent higher to $5,597.5 million in the second quarter of 2018.

“The improvement in EBITDA margin was primarily due to the greater cattle availability and strong demand for beef both in the domestic US market but also in the export market,” O’Callaghan said. “The US beef industry’s exports have grown quite substantially in the first half of this year and in the second quarter grew by more than 26 percent — industry exports out of the US.

“We’ve seen an improvement in the product mix and the growth of special programs of this unit, again particularly in the US, including our organic business, our grass-fed business and our natural business, which has dedicated brands toward each of these special markets.”

Improvements in the Canadian beef sector, along with initiatives aimed at diversifying the company’s product portfolio and enhanced focus on partnerships with strategic customers enabled JBS operations in North America to increase volumes in both domestic and international markets.

A greater supply of cattle in Australia, coupled with a focus on operational efficiencies and a diversified product portfolio with more value-added beef products and products from Primo Smallgoods contributed to significant improvements in performance, JBS said.

In the company’s Pork segment, net revenue declined 6.3 percent to $1,429.5 million compared to the second quarter of 2017. The company attributed the result to an increase in domestic pork supply which led to 4.6 percent higher volumes with lower prices.

JBS reported higher export volumes with stable prices in spite of tariffs imposed on US pork by China and Mexico.

“It is important to mention that lower pork prices domestically have a positive impact on Plumrose, which mainly uses pork as raw material,” JBS noted. “This factor, coupled with the company’s strategy to continuously increase its portfolio of higher value-added products as a result of partnerships with key customers, contributed for an impressive improvement at Plumrose when compared with 1Q18.”

Poultry processor Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. saw a second-quarter earnings decline driven by weak commodity chicken and feed prices. Additionally, the business took a one-time charge of $24 million related to derivative losses in a volatile grain market.

Net income for Pilgrim’s Pride for the quarter ended July 1 fell to $106,344,000, equal to $0.43 per share on the common stock, when compared to the same period of the previous year when the company earned $233,641,000, equal to $0.94 per share.

Sales during the quarter ticked up to $2,836,713,000 from $2,752,286,000 during fiscal 2017.