030148 Smithfield Expects to Miss TargetJanuary 23, 2003Smithfield, VA - Smithfield Foods Inc. said Wednesday it expects its earnings for the current quarter to be well below Wall Street expectations because of low hog prices and weak profits in its fresh meat business. The nation's largest pork processor said earnings for its third fiscal quarter, which ends Sunday, will "approximate those in the second quarter," when the company reported net income of 4 cents a share. That figure would be sharply below the Thomson First Call consensus estimate of 22 cents a share for the quarter. "While processed meats and beef operations remain quite strong, they are unable to offset the impact of hog prices below break-even and an extremely poor fresh pork environment," the company said in a statement.
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com |
