Sanderson Farms Q4 Profit Up - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Sanderson Farms, Inc. (SAFM) reported that its fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 net income significantly increased to $45.3 million, or $1.97 per share, from $9.3 million, or $0.41 per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $2.22 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the fourth quarter were $727.1 million up from $648.4 million for the same period a year ago. Five analysts had consensus revenue estimate of $717.82 million for the quarter.

According to Joe Sanderson, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, overall market prices for poultry products were higher in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 compared with prices a year ago, but came down significantly from peaks earlier during the year. As measured by a simple average of the Georgia dock price for whole chickens, prices were higher by approximately 10.9 percent in the Company's fourth fiscal quarter compared with the same period in fiscal 2012, and were higher by 10.4 percent for the fiscal year compared with the prior year.