WorldPoultry: Feed costs challenge Cal-Maine Foods Q3 results

US egg producer Cal-Maine Foods has reported higher sales in its third quarter results although significantly higher feed input costs have adversely affected gross profit margins.

Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 were $360.4 million compared with net sales of $303.7 million for the same quarter of fiscal 2012. The Company reported net income of $30.6 million, for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 compared with net income of $26.1 million, for the third quarter of fiscal 2012.

For the first nine months of fiscal 2013, net sales were $962.2 million compared with net sales of $837.9 million for the prior-year period. The Company reported net income of $54.3 million, for the first nine months of fiscal 2013 compared with net income of $52.5 million, for the prior-year period.

Dolph Baker, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods, stated, “Cal-Maine Foods delivered a solid performance for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 with our net sales up 19% over the same period last year. The higher sales reflect both improved volumes from our recent acquisitions and higher average selling prices compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2012. Specialty egg sales have been steadily increasing throughout this fiscal year and accounted for 16.7% of dozen eggs sold and 23.6% of total shell egg sales revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2013, compared to 16.4% of dozen eggs sold and 23.4% of total shell egg sales revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2012. We remain focused on identifying additional opportunities to market and sell specialty eggs and meet the increasing demand from our customers. We believe the performance of specialty eggs will be a key driver of our future growth.

“Our feed costs have experienced significant price increases during fiscal 2013 and the higher input costs have continued to adversely affect our gross profit margins,” added Baker. “For the third quarter, our feed costs were up 22% over the same period in fiscal 2012. However, our management team has continued to focus on running efficient operations and we are pleased with our profitable performance in a challenging environment. Looking ahead, we expect the extremely tight national corn supply will continue to be a concern through the summer months and keep pressure on our feed costs.”

“We believe Cal-Maine Foods is on track for another successful year in fiscal 2013. In spite of higher feed costs, our operations continue to run well. We have worked hard to integrate the two acquisitions completed this fiscal year and to leverage our capabilities in these additional locations. We expect to realise further operating synergies with the expanded capacity and we look forward to new market opportunities for Cal-Maine Foods,” Baker concluded.