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“Fiscal 2010 was highlighted by record annual sales of $1.9 billion, surpassing the previous year’s record by over 7%,” said Joe Sanderson Jr., chairman of the board and CEO of Sanderson Farms. “Our revenue growth reflects the solid execution of our growth strategy to steadily increase our production capacity, and our net results reflect the quality of our operations. Consumer demand for chicken products at retail grocery stores was steady throughout the year, but we continued to experience reduced demand from food service customers, reflecting the considerable slowdown in restaurant traffic across the country.
“Our operations performed well in our industry in terms of operating efficiencies and profitability as we processed a record 2.6 billion lbs. of dressed poultry in fiscal 2010 compared with 2.4 billion lbs. during fiscal 2009,” he added. “For fiscal 2010, we were pleased to reward our shareholders with record net income of $134.8 million, or $6.07 per share, compared with $82.3 million, or $3.94 per share, in fiscal 2009.”
Re-elected to three-year terms as directors were Lampkin Butts, president and COO, Sanderson Farms Inc.; Beverly Wade Hogan, president of Tougaloo College; Phil Livingston, retired chairman and CEO, Deposit Guaranty National Bank of Louisiana; Charles Ritter, Jr., retired president and director, the Attala Company and Sanderson.
“Fiscal 2010 was a successful year by nearly every measure,” Sanderson said. “Our financial and operating performance reflects our successful execution of our strategy to combine steady, manageable growth with superior operations. We continued to make the necessary investments to ensure our future growth and improve shareholder value, as we completed our new Kinston, North Carolina complex on schedule and on budget. We began processing chicken at the new complex in January.”
