SÃO PAULO — JBS SA reported net income for fiscal year 2022 ended Dec. 31, 2022, totaling 15.5 billion reals ($2.94 billion), which decreased 24.5% from 2021.

For the fiscal fourth quarter of 2022, JBS showed a net income of 2.3 billion reals ($440 million), which was 63.7% below the year-over-year mark.

Consolidated net revenue for the fourth quarter went down 4.5% to 93 billion reals ($17.6 billion) from 97 billion reals ($18.4 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2021. For the 2022 fiscal year of net revenue, JBS reported 375 billion reals ($71 billion), a 6.9% increase from the previous year.

“We observe that the challenging market conditions that impacted our performance in the fourth quarter of 2022 continue into the first quarter of 2023, which is traditionally a weaker period for the global protein industry,” said Gilberto Tomazoni, chief executive officer of JBS SA, in the earnings report. “In addition to margin compression in US beef, high inflation in important markets is weakening consumption, causing an imbalance between supply and demand. At the same time, we are facing persistent pressure on production costs.”

When looking at segments in the business, JBS USA Beef in 2022, reported net revenue of $21.6 billion, which was down 1.4% from 2021. For the fourth quarter, JBS USA Beef showed $5.4 billion in revenue, which was down 12.3% from the same quarter in 2021.

JBS USA Pork reported 2022 net revenue of $7.99 billion, up 2.5% from 2021. JBS USA Pork reported $2 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, slightly down by 0.3% from the same quarter last year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. reported a 2022 net revenue of $17.1 billion, up 13% from 2021. The subsidiary reported $4.12 billion of revenue in the fourth quarter, which decreased by 3.8%.

“Despite the short-term scenario, we have confidence in the medium and long-term results based on our geographical and protein diversification strategy, which has historically delivered superior outcomes,” Tomazoni said. “Our globally diversified and multi-protein platform, which is unparalleled in the global protein industry, was built to mitigate the impacts of natural cycles on our business and maintain a healthy cash generation, allowing the company to reinvest in its growth, continue innovating and deliver returns to shareholders.”

During 2023, JBS shared some of the new investments it will make in prepared food for Brazil and the United States. The company said it would start operations of the first two breading lines and first hot dog line at the new Seara facility in the state of Paraná in Brazil. It also plans to open a new Italian meats and charcuterie production facility in Missouri.

JBS noted that in February 2023, it resumed lamb operations in Australia.

The multinational meat company shared that in the last two years, it made $2.2 billion in asset purchases by acquiring seven companies.

Some businesses include Huon Agriculture in the salmon market, BioTech Foods SL in the cultivated meat space, Vivera for plant-based food in Europe, and Australian pork operation Rivalea Holdings Pty. Ltd, among other additions to the European and American markets.

More information on the JBS Earnings for 2022 can be found here.