020124 Tyson Chairman Discusses PlansJanuary 19, 2002Fayetteville, AR - Speaking to University of Arkansas business students, Tyson Foods Inc. chairman John Tyson said the purchase of meat packer IBP was essential to the growth of his company. Tyson said the company, the world's largest poultry producer, had saturated the poultry industry and was looking for expansion opportunities when it agreed in September to purchase IBP Foods Inc. of Dakota Dunes, S.D. for $4.7 million in stock and the assumption of debt. “We had to say to ourselves when we looked at the IBP acquisition, what will it do for our company? It was a point in time opportunity,” Tyson said. The purchase upped Tyson's annual sales from $7.5 billion to $25 billion. Tyson refused to answer questions about last month's federal indictment against his company. Federal prosecutors accused Tyson and six former managers, including a vice president, of conspiring to smuggle illegal immigrants to work for the company at plants in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Tyson Foods, a 120,000-employee company, controls 23% of the chicken market in the United States and IBP controls 27% of the beef market along with 18% to 20% of the pork market. Tyson said that for the past 30 years, the company has sold pre- packaged chicken products that are easy to prepare and can be eaten in single servings. He said the company is now concentrating on bringing that concept to beef and pork. Tyson said the company also plans to start shipping products to convenience stores. In the past, it has concentrated on grocery stores and restaurants. Tyson also said the company anticipates higher-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2002, which ended Dec. 29. Consensus estimates on Thursday stood at 35 cents a share. He noted that analysts upped their prediction after Tyson Foods announced on Jan. 3 it was expecting earnings of 34 to 36 cents per share.
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