Smithfield Foods expects growth in sales, profit on strong packaged meats demand

Reuters

Tue, Mar 25, 2025, 2:36 AM 2 min read

(Reuters) - Smithfield Foods forecast maturation successful yearly income and adjusted operating nett connected Tuesday, helped by beardown request for its packaged meats astatine market stores and benefits from its cost-cutting measures.

The institution reported its archetypal quarterly results since going nationalist successful January, having been spun-off from the world's largest pork shaper WH Group.

Smithfield has shifted toward buying much of the hogs it processes, alternatively than owning them, which helped successful reducing input costs astatine a clip erstwhile planetary request tempered and costs of raising livestock went up.

The Virginia-headquartered institution told Reuters successful January it does not program to adjacent much U.S. pork plants, aft it closed its installation successful Vernon, California and different successful Charlotte, North Carolina successful 2023.

It besides stands to payment from focusing connected its packaged meats portfolio alternatively of its hog accumulation concern arsenic consumers look to marque much nutritious meals astatine home.

Sales successful the packaged meats segment, which accounts for astir 59% of the company's full sales, roseate 2.2% from a twelvemonth earlier successful the 4th quarter.

The institution expects fiscal 2025 adjusted operating nett to beryllium betwixt $1.10 cardinal and $1.30 billion, the mid-point of which is supra the $1.12 cardinal it reported for the 12 months ended December 29, 2024.

While Smithfield warned of tariff risks successful its archetypal nationalist offering prospectus, President Donald Trump's medication said past week it plans to permanently let U.S. pork and poultry plants to run much rapidly aft immoderate were antecedently fixed waivers to summation processing enactment speeds.

Smithfield expects full yearly nett income to emergence successful the debased to mid-single-digit percent range, compared with a 3.4% autumn reported successful fiscal 2024.

In the 4th quarter, the company's full income fell 1.2% to $3.95 cardinal and the institution reported a nett per stock of 54 cents compared with a nonaccomplishment of 25 cents a twelvemonth earlier.

(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum successful Bengaluru and Tom Polansek successful Chicago; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)