News and financial news services reported Monday that Tyson Foods, owner of Emporia’s Tyson Fresh Meats plant, reported a 92 percent drop in its quarterly profit because of the rising cost of feed for chickens.
The company reported a $44 million loss in its chicken unit in the third fiscal quarter, compared to a $95 million profit a year ago.
The drop in profits was so great because the price of corn and other feed grains has increased sharply, while Tyson is locked into contracts with retailers and restaurants at fixed prices. The company will not be able to pass along the increased cost of feed until it negotiates new contracts with customers in the coming months.
Tyson is the largest meat producer in the United States, and the new contracts can be expected to raise the price of chicken to consumers.
Tyson Chief Executive Officer Richard Bond said in a conference call with analysts Monday that he expects profits in the company’s beef, pork and processed foods businesses to offset losses in the chicken operation in the fourth quarter.
Comments
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
Posted by Summer_Breeze (anonymous) on July 29, 2008 at 2:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Great--the price of chicken is going up too.
I wish the Gazette had also reported the projected profits in the other Tyson divisions. I'm sure they're available, if the CEO says those profits are expected to offset the losses in the chicken processing operation. And if the overall company is profitable, why must they raise consumer prices?
Can't feel too sorry for Tyson after the way they've treated Emporia, can you?
Posted by zeepmonk (anonymous) on July 29, 2008 at 2:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
beef segment was profit of 3 million for last quarter - loss of 75 million for ytd.
Posted by MisterO (anonymous) on July 29, 2008 at 5:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"...The company reported a $44 million loss in its chicken unit in the third fiscal quarter, compared to a $95 million profit a year ago...."
This $44 million dollar loss....
Does anyone know if they mean they made $44 million less than they did a year ago (meaning they still made a $51 million dollar profit)?
Or do they mean they mean they actually lost $139 million (meaning not only did they lose the $95 million profit, but an additional $44 million on top of that)?
It's kind of hard to feel sorry for a company that "only" made a $51 million dollar profit for a quarter of a year, isn't it?
Posted by funston (anonymous) on July 30, 2008 at 2:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The railroads made Emporia and Tyson et. al. took it away. Crocodile tears.
Post a comment
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. Our goal with this feature is to encourage thoughtful discussions about the news stories. Using the comment feature to make random attacks on people is not acceptable. Emporiagazette.com neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any user contribution. Responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
(Requires free registration.)