SÃO PAULO – For the first quarter of fiscal 2022, ending March 31, 2022, JBS SA reported net income totaling 5.1 billion reals ($990 million) which increased 151% from 2.05 billion reals ($400 million) the previous year.

Consolidated net revenue for the first quarter went up 20.8% to 97.2 billion reals ($18.87 billion) from the first quarter of 2021. 

“The stability of the beef and pork businesses in North America, the strong performance by Pilgrim’s Pride, the business improvements in Australia, the advances in building brands in Brazil and the emphasis on managing what was under our control, and with our capacity for innovation and our relentless pursuit of operational excellence, were all key to posting very strong numbers during the quarter,” said Gilberto Tomazoni, global chief executive officer of JBS in the earnings highlights. “Concerning the same period last year, we had double-digit revenue growth in all business units. We also made advances in the EBITDA margin in practically all areas.”

When looking at segments in the business, JBS Beef North America in 2022, reported net revenue of $5.54 billion, which is up 27.3% compared to the same time in 2021. 

The company said as of the first quarter of 2022, it will report the JBS Beef North America without JBS Australia, which will be reported separately.

JBS USA Pork reported $1.90 billion in revenue in the first quarter, up 18.4% from the same quarter last year.

“In the domestic market, the strong demand for pork supported prices during the quarter, favoring the segment's margins, which were at higher levels in the annual comparison,” JBS stated. “On the other hand, higher operating and live animal costs partially pressured results.”

As for Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., a subsidiary of JBS SA, the poultry operation reported $4.24 billion of revenue in the first quarter, which increased by 29.5%.

The information from JBS showed that in the US, the foodservice channel recovered to pre-COVID volume levels with demand in retail remaining strong despite challenging inflationary scenario. 

“Higher operating costs and a sub-optimal product mix, due to significant labor shortages, were mainly offset by good profitability in the more commoditized business,” JBS said. “In Mexico, the good profitability is explained by the seasonality of the period, investments in branded products and the good management of the supply chain, despite the rise in grain prices.”

More information on the JBS Earnings can be found here.