SÃO PAULO, Brazil – JBS S.A. posted consolidated net revenues of R219.8 million ($94.25 million), or R76.69 ($32.89) per thousand shares, in the third quarter, down from R367 million reported in the third quarter of 2012. But net revenues across most of the company’s business segments were stronger in the quarter.
Net revenues advanced 25.1 percent to R24.22 billion ($10.38 billion) for the quarter, compared to R21.93 billion ($9.4 billion) in the second quarter. The company attributed the gain to an increase in revenues from all business units. The company said 87.6 percent of the gain came from organic growth. Consolidated EBITDA climbed 24 percent to R1,709 million.

Third quarter net profits for Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (PPC) totaled $160.9 million, an increase of 275.0 percent compared to 3Q12 with free cash flow generation of $285.8 million, enabling PPC to reduce its debt by $252 million and its leverage, JBS said.

“Our engagement with key customers continues to reflect the value they expect from Pilgrim's and is driving growth and success for our customers," said Bill Lovette, Pilgrim's CEO. "We've also seen improvements in our margins as a result of the processes we've transformed through our commitment to operational excellence. We are close to achieving our operational improvement targets for the year and envision capturing even greater efficiencies in 2014. Our export model has enabled us to attain our goal of achieving 30 percent growth in value-added products year to date."

Pilgrim's recorded net revenues of $2.1 billion, 3.6 higher compared to a year ago.
"This improved result comes from an increase of 4.4 percent in revenue from the US operations, due to an increase in revenue per pound sold, thanks to higher market prices, partially offset by a decrease in volumes sold and in the revenue from PPC Mexican operation, due to the normalization after a market recovery followed by AI (avian influenza) issue," the company noted.

The Pork segment recorded net revenues of $903.3 million for the quarter, an increase of 6.8 percent year on year, according to JBS.

"This result reflects an increase in prices in both domestic and export markets, coupled with an increase in exports volume. Compared to 2Q13, net revenue increased 4.0 percent," the company said.
The Beef segment posted net revenues of $4.689.8 million, a slight decline of 2.4 percent from the comparable year-ago period.

"The American market presented a decrease in beef imported during this period which contributed to a better pricing of beef in the US domestic market," the company said. "USDA data shows a reduction in cow slaughter during recent weeks which is an important indicator towards herd growth in the medium and long term."