Tyson Foods TSN posted better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings Monday but forecast muted full-year sales amid a continuing slowdown in U.S. meat demand.
Tyson Foods said adjusted earnings for the three months ended in October, the group's fiscal fourth quarter, were pegged at 37 cents a share, down 77% from the same period last year but just ahead of the Wall Street consensus forecast of 29 cents share.
Group revenue fell 2.8% to $13.35 billion, missing analysts' forecast of a $13.71 billion tally. Beef sales were down 6.7% to $5.03 billion, Tyson said, while chicken sales rose 1.7% to $4.155 billion and pork sales slipped 0.2% to $1.494 billion.
Looking into the coming financial year, Tyson Foods sees revenue of around $52.8 billion, flat to 2023 levels but lower than the Wall Street forecast of around $54.4 billion.
“While economic headwinds persist, we are moving in the right direction and managing what we can control," said Chief Executive Donnie King. "The decisions we have taken have made us more operationally efficient and aided a second quarter of sequential improvement in adjusted operating income."
"The strategy and leadership team we have in place will allow us to take advantage of the long-term opportunities in front of us and drive shareholder value,” he added.
Tyson Foods shares were marked 3.5% higher in early trading immediately following the earnings release to change hands at $48.58 each, a move that would trim the stock's six month decline to around 1.8%.
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