GREELEY, Colo., April 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ: PPC), one of the world's leading food companies, reports its first quarter 2025 financial results.

First Quarter Highlights:

• Net Sales of $4.5 billion.
• Consolidated GAAP operating income margin of 9.1%.
• GAAP Net Income of $296.3 million and GAAP EPS of $1.24. Adjusted Net Income of $312.6 million and Adjusted EPS of $1.31.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $533.2 million, or a 12.0% margin.
• The U.S. Fresh portfolio experienced strong demand across both retail and foodservice and continued improvements in operational efficiencies. Chicken commodity prices rose higher than historical seasonal averages benefiting Big Bird. Case Ready and Small Bird strengthened relationships with Key Customers as volumes increased higher than industry averages.
• U.S. Prepared Foods continued to expand its portfolio across retail and foodservice as net sales grew over 20% compared to prior year, further diversifying our portfolio. Brands remained a key driver as Just Bare^® continues to have the highest velocity and most growth in the retail fully cooked chicken category.
• Digitally-enabled sales grew over 35% from prior year through partnerships with leading retailers, foodservice providers, and online suppliers.
• Pilgrim’s Europe continued to scale profitable growth through Key Customer partnerships, enhanced mix, and further business integration. Momentum for branded offerings grew as volumes for Richmond^® and Fridge Raiders^® increased faster than the category.
• Mexico continued to grow with Key Customers in retail and foodservice as sales volume increased by double digits compared to prior year. Diversification efforts accelerated as sales volume of value-added product offerings increased 9%.
• Continued strong liquidity position and balance sheet flexibility after payment of the special dividend of $1.5 billion with a net leverage ratio of 1.1x of Adjusted EBITDA.
• Investment projects remain on track to support the growth of Pilgrim’s branded portfolio, to meet increased Key Customer demand in Fresh and to reduce operational risk in protein conversion. Through these investments, Pilgrim’s will continue to support and strengthen local communities in rural America.
• The company continues to drive sustainability through both operational efficiencies and supply chain engagement. Third-party reports demonstrate Pilgrim’s Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions intensity levels have decreased below target thresholds, while efforts to expand climate resiliency in broader businesses and value chains increase.
  

^{(1)   Reconciliations for non-U.S. GAAP measures are provided in subsequent sections within this release.}

“While facing volatility during the quarter, we maintained our focus on controlling the controllables and consistent execution of our strategies,” said Fabio Sandri, Pilgrim’s President and CEO. “We continued to cultivate Key Customer partnerships through differentiated offerings and a diversified portfolio in each of our geographies, reinforcing our foundation for profitable growth.”

In the first quarter, the U.S. business increased sales and profitability compared to the prior year. U.S. Fresh experienced continued seasonal strength in commodity values and improved production efficiencies in Big Bird, whereas Case Ready and Small Bird benefited from increased distribution with Key Customers in retail, deli, and QSRs. Prepared Foods accelerated the expansion of its value-added portfolio across retail and foodservice.

“We continue to realize strong demand as the consumer maintains an appreciation for the relative affordability and convenience of chicken compared to other proteins,” added Sandri. “Given our diversified portfolio across segments, we captured commodity market upsides. Equally important, we have strengthened relationships with Key Customers through quality and service, and further diversified our portfolio through value-added offerings.”

Europe continues to benefit from ongoing optimization, new product development efforts, and branded growth. The business achieved a new adjusted EBITDA margin milestone at 8.1% for the first quarter, over 150 basis points higher than the previous year. Overall demand remained stable as the portfolio continues to transition to an enhanced mix.

“In Europe, our efforts to scale profitable growth continues to accelerate,” said Sandri. “We have increased traction among consumers for core branded offerings, grown our partnerships with Key Customers, and further cultivated our innovation pipeline.”

Mexico drove profitability from growth in Key Customer partnerships throughout Fresh, relatively attractive commodity fundamentals, and expansion of value-added offerings across retail and foodservice. Expansion efforts in live operations and Prepared Foods remained on track as all projects are proceeding as planned.

“Given our overall market presence and long-term potential, Mexico remains a promising growth opportunity,” remarked Sandri. “As such, we will continue to evaluate investments to further diversify our portfolio, improve our operational efficiencies, and strengthen Key Customer partnerships.”

Pilgrim’s achieved a net leverage ratio of 1.1x after payment of a special dividend, well below its target of 2x to 3x.

“We will maintain our financial flexibility and capital discipline as we continue to invest in projects to drive profitable growth with Key Customers and explore strategic opportunities to diversify our portfolio,” concluded Sandri.

Conference Call Information

A conference call to discuss Pilgrim’s quarterly results will be held tomorrow, May 1, at 7 a.m. MT (9 a.m. ET). Participants are encouraged to pre-register for the conference call using the link below. Callers who pre-register will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator. Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time.

To pre-register, go to: https://dpregister.com/sreg/10198901/fef3fe079e.

You may also reach the pre-registration link by logging in through the investor section of our website at
https://ir.pilgrims.com in the “Events & Presentations” section.

For those who would like to join the call but have not pre-registered, access is available by dialing +1 (844) 883-3889 within the US, or +1 (412) 317-9245 internationally, and requesting the “Pilgrim’s Pride Conference.”

Replays of the conference call will be available on Pilgrim’s website approximately two hours after the call concludes and can be accessed through the “Investor” section of www.pilgrims.com.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s employs approximately 62,600 people and operates protein processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 14 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the U.K, the Republic of Ireland and continental Europe. The Company’s primary distribution is through retailers and foodservice distributors. For more information, please visit www.pilgrims.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that state the intentions, plans, hopes, beliefs, anticipations, expectations or predictions of the future of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and its management are considered forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “should,” “targets,” “will” and the negative thereof and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. It is important to note that actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements include: matters affecting the poultry industry generally; the ability to execute the Company’s business plan to achieve desired cost savings and profitability; future pricing for feed ingredients and the Company’s products; outbreaks of avian influenza or other diseases, either in Pilgrim’s Pride’s flocks or elsewhere, affecting its ability to conduct its operations and/or demand for its poultry products; contamination of Pilgrim’s Pride’s products, which has previously and can in the future lead to product liability claims and product recalls; exposure to risks related to product liability, product recalls, property damage and injuries to persons, for which insurance coverage is expensive, limited and potentially inadequate; management of cash resources; restrictions imposed by, and as a result of, Pilgrim’s Pride’s leverage; changes in laws or regulations affecting Pilgrim’s Pride’s operations or the application thereof; new immigration legislation or increased enforcement efforts in connection with existing immigration legislation that cause the costs of doing business to increase, cause Pilgrim’s Pride to change the way in which it does business, or otherwise disrupt its operations; competitive factors and pricing pressures or the loss of one or more of Pilgrim’s Pride’s largest customers; currency exchange rate fluctuations, trade barriers, exchange controls, expropriation and other risks associated with foreign operations; disruptions in international markets and distribution channels, including, but not limited to, the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict; the risk of cyber-attacks, natural disasters, power losses, unauthorized access, telecommunication failures, and other problems on our information systems; and the impact of uncertainties of litigation and other legal matters described in our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, including the In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, as well as other risks described under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any such statement after the date of this release, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

PILGRIM’S PRIDE CORPORATION
Non-GAAP Financial Measures Reconciliation
(Unaudited)

“EBITDA” is defined as the sum of net income plus interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. “Adjusted EBITDA” is calculated by adding to EBITDA certain items of expense and deducting from EBITDA certain items of income that we believe are not indicative of our ongoing operating performance consisting of: (1) foreign currency transaction gains, (2) costs related to litigation settlements, (3) restructuring activities losses, and (4) net income attributable to noncontrolling interests. EBITDA is presented because it is used by management and we believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties, in addition to and not in lieu of results prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”), to compare the performance of companies. We believe investors would be interested in our Adjusted EBITDA because this is how our management analyzes EBITDA applicable to continuing operations. The Company also believes that Adjusted EBITDA, in combination with the Company’s financial results calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, provides investors with additional perspective regarding the impact of certain significant items on EBITDA and facilitates a more direct comparison of its performance with its competitors. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measurements of financial performance under U.S. GAAP. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for an analysis of our results as reported under U.S. GAAP. In addition, other companies in our industry may calculate these measures differently limiting their usefulness as a comparative measure. Because of these limitations, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net income as indicators of our operating performance or any other measures of performance derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These limitations should be compensated for by relying primarily on our U.S. GAAP results and using EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA only on a supplemental basis.

The summary unaudited consolidated income statement data for the twelve months ended March 30, 2025 (the LTM Period) have been calculated by subtracting the applicable unaudited consolidated income statement data for the three months ended March 31, 2024 from the sum of (1) the applicable audited consolidated income statement data for the year ended December 29, 2024 and (2) the applicable unaudited consolidated income statement data for the three months ended March 30, 2025.

EBITDA margins have been calculated by taking the relevant unaudited EBITDA figures, then dividing by net sales for the applicable period. EBITDA margins are presented because they are used by management and we believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties, as a supplement to our results prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, to compare the performance of companies.

Adjusted EBITDA by segment figures are presented because they are used by management and we believe they are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties, as a supplement to our results prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, to compare the performance of companies.

Adjusted Operating Income is calculated by adding to Operating Income certain items of expense and deducting from Operating Income certain items of income. Management believes that presentation of Adjusted Operating Income provides useful supplemental information about our operating performance and enables comparison of our performance between periods because certain costs shown below are not indicative of our current operating performance. A reconciliation of GAAP operating income to adjusted operating income as follows:

Adjusted Operating Income Margin for each of our reportable segments is calculated by dividing Adjusted operating income by Net Sales. Management believes that presentation of Adjusted Operating Income Margin provides useful supplemental information about our operating performance and enables comparison of our performance between periods because certain costs shown below are not indicative of our current operating performance. A reconciliation of GAAP operating income margin for each of our reportable segments to adjusted operating income margin for each of our reportable segments is as follows:

Adjusted net income attributable to Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (“Pilgrim's”) is calculated by adding to Net income attributable to Pilgrim's certain items of expense and deducting from Net income attributable to Pilgrim's certain items of income, as shown below in the table. Adjusted net income attributable to Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation per common diluted share is presented because it is used by management, and we believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties, in addition to and not in lieu of results prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP, to compare the performance of companies. Management also believe that this non-U.S. GAAP financial measure, in combination with our financial results calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, provides investors with additional perspective regarding the impact of such charges on net income attributable to Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation per common diluted share. Adjusted net income attributable to Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation per common diluted share is not a measurement of financial performance under U.S. GAAP, has limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for an analysis of our results as reported under U.S. GAAP. Management believes that presentation of adjusted net income attributable to Pilgrim’s provides useful supplemental information about our operating performance and enables comparison of our performance between periods because certain costs shown below are not indicative of our current operating performance. A reconciliation of net income (loss) attributable to Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation per common diluted share to adjusted net income attributable to Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation per common diluted share is as follows:

^{(a)   Net tax expense (benefit) of adjustments represents the tax impact of all adjustments shown above.}

Adjusted EPS is calculated by dividing the adjusted net income attributable to Pilgrim's stockholders by the weighted average number of diluted shares. Management believes that Adjusted EPS provides useful supplemental information about our operating performance and enables comparison of our performance between periods because certain costs shown below are not indicative of our current operating performance. A reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to non-U.S. GAAP financial measures is as follows:

^{(a)   Net tax impact of adjustments represents the tax impact of all adjustments shown above.}