MERRIAM, KAN. – Seaboard Corp. announced its numbers for the third fiscal quarter ended Sept. 26, 2020, including an operating income of $4 million in its Pork segment. This is up from a $22 million loss in the same time period during 2019.

According to the company’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company reported total net sales of $1.64 billion compared to $1.66 billion during the same period last year.

In the third quarter, there were signs of recovery in pork segment as net sales rose to $462 million in Q3, a 9.2% increase over the same quarter in 2019, which totaled $423 million. 

As an investor in Butterball LLC, Seaboard reported net sales of $407 million in Q3, a 2.2% decrease compared to $416 million during the same period in 2019. In its turkey segment, the company showed a net loss of at $7 million, an improvement from the previous year’s loss of $22 million.

In the SEC filing, Seaboard said Butterball products continue to have lower volumes related to a decline in foodservice demand and higher production costs primarily related to labor.

“Management is unable to predict future market prices for turkey products, the cost of feed or the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Seaboard said in its filing. “Based on market conditions, management currently cannot predict if this segment will be profitable for the remainder of 2020.”

Seaboard also explained in the filing that the extent of COVID-19 pandemic impacts on the financial condition of Seaboard is still uncertain. However, management at Seaboard is confident that it will remain profitable in the near future.

“All of Seaboard’s operations are considered “essential businesses” as defined by the respective governments and have continued to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the company said. “While some of Seaboard’s operations have seen recovery in their results in the third quarter of 2020, challenges remain. Seaboard continues to encounter partially staffed shifts, lock downs or curfews in some geographic regions, and the impacts from commodity market volatility.”

Seaboard invested $115 million in the pork segment during the first nine months of 2020.