GREELEY, COLO. — Net income at Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. in the fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 24 totaled $121.6 million, equal to 51¢ per share on the common stock, compared to $259 million, equal to $1.08 per share in the same period a year ago.

Adjusted earnings per share were 58¢ with adjusted net income at $136.7 million.

Net sales decreased by 2.4% compared to 2022 standing at $4.36 billion for the quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA was $324 million, or a 7.4% margin, with adjusted EBITDA margins of 7.0% in the United States, 6.1% in the United Kingdom and Europe, and 12.4% in Mexico.

“Throughout the quarter, we continued to strengthen our business through consistent application and execution of our strategies of key customer partnership, portfolio diversification and operational excellence,” said Fabio Sandri, chief executive officer of Pilgrim’s. “Given our focus, profitability improved again relative to prior quarter across all regions despite uneven market conditions and persistent consumer inflation.”

Pilgrim’s added that its US market margins grew from the second quarter, giving further momentum to operational excellence efforts and enhancing fundamentals in its Big Bird category. Margins were also helped by growth in promotional activity and increased distribution in case ready products, along with solid performance from its Small Bird business. 

The company also stated that prepared foods generated growth in branded offerings like Just Bare, and Pilgrim’s net sales grew 65% compared to 2022.

“The US big bird commodity business continued to drive sequential profitability improvements under volatile market conditions,” Sandri said. “Our action plans have driven meaningful progress in operational excellence and uncovered further improvement opportunities. Our key customer partnerships in both case ready and small bird have been remarkably beneficial as we strengthened our sales pipeline through service, quality, and higher value attributes.”

In new investments and upgrades, Sandri noted that its expansion of the Athens, Ga., facility remains on schedule and the construction of Pilgrim’s protein conversion facility in South Georgia is also progressing as planned.

Operating income was $206.4 million, compared to $339.2 million in 2022.

In its UK and Europe business, Pilgrim’s said it grew 65% from the prior year due to manufacturing network optimization, recovery from inflationary costs and enhanced key customer partnerships.

“Over the past 18 months, the team has demonstrated remarkable determination to further cultivate operational excellence in our production facilities and back-office activities,” Sandri said. “When these efforts are combined with our Key Customer focus, innovation pipeline, and diversified offerings, the business has strengthened the foundation to drive further profitable growth.”

Business in Mexico showed developments in the third quarter with improved live operations, grain and currency favorability, and enhanced supply and demand fundamentals.

“Our Mexico team has shown extraordinary ownership to overcome challenges in live operations through operational excellence over the past year,” Sandri said. “Given these efforts, the team was well positioned to drive profitable growth with key customers and further cultivate its branded presence throughout the quarter. Our investments in live expansion are tracking as planned and will simultaneously enable growth and reduce potential supply risks.”