020303 Sanderson Farms Reports First Quarter Results

Laurel, MS - Sanderson Farms, Inc. reported results for the first quarter ended January 31, 2002.

Net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2002 were $164.5 million, up 8% compared with $152.1 million for the same period a year ago. For the quarter, the Company reported net income of $5.3 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, compared with net income of $384,000, or $0.03 per diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2001.

“Sanderson Farms' financial and operating performance for the first fiscal quarter marked a solid start for fiscal 2002,” commented Joe F. Sanderson, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Sanderson Farms, Inc. “These results reflect a continuation of the improved operating performance we experienced in 2001, and slightly higher market prices compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2001. Market prices for our poultry products softened seasonally compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001, although we did enjoy slight price improvement in certain poultry products when compared to the same period a year ago.”

According to Sanderson, market prices for poultry products, as measured by a simple average of the Georgia dock price for whole chickens, increased approximately 3.3% in the Company's first fiscal quarter compared with the same period in 2001. Due to continued strong export demand, market prices for bulk leg quarters during the first quarter increased 19.2%. Boneless breast meat during the quarter averaged $1.21 per pound, or 3.9% higher than the same period a year ago. Wing prices averaged $.83 per pound, or 3.8% above last year's first fiscal quarter.

“Our marketing execution in our target markets over the last fiscal year has allowed us to achieve a favorable product mix, which was an advantage to us compared to last year's first quarter,” Sanderson continued. “This achievement reflects the benefits of our strategic marketing shift over the past two years to increase the average live weight of chickens and focus our production and processing on the more profitable chill pack and big bird deboning markets. This strategic shift was completed during the quarter when we finalized the conversion of our Hazlehurst Processing Plant from a small bird plant to a big bird plant. During the week of January 21, we shut down the Hazlehurst plant to install the equipment necessary to complete its conversion. With this conversion complete, we believe we are well positioned to produce an even more favorable product mix, and further enhance our sales efforts in fiscal 2002.”

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