GREELEY, Colo., Feb. 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) today reported fiscal year 2015 financial results with Net Sales of $8.18 billion, Net Income of $645.9 million, and an Adjusted Earnings Per Share of $2.60. For fiscal year 2014, Net Sales was $8.58 billion, Net Income was $711.6 million, and Adjusted Earnings Per Share was $2.96, respectively. The company generated $1.21 billion of adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“EBITDA”) in 2015, or a 14.9% margin, compared to $1.35 billion, or a 15.8% margin, in the year before, demonstrating a consistent solid year-on-year performance despite a much softer market environment.

For the fourth quarter of 2015, Pilgrim’s recorded Net Sales of $1.96 billion, compared to $2.11 billion for the same period in 2014. Fourth quarter 2015 Net Income was $63.1 million compared to the $167.2 million reported in the prior year. Adjusted Earnings Per Share was $0.26 in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $0.83 in the same period last year, while adjusted EBITDA was $150.0 million last quarter, or a 7.7% margin, versus $367.8 million, or a 17.4% margin, for the same period a year ago.

“Our case ready and small bird operations continued to deliver strong results in spite of challenges in the export markets, while the weakest chicken cutout in the past five years continued to impact the commodity segments of our business, as well as our Mexico operations. Despite the headwinds, our team managed to deliver margins that are above periods when prices were at similar levels. Our performance is commendable and strongly validates the benefits of our strategy,” stated Bill Lovette, Chief Executive Officer of Pilgrim's.

“The implementation and execution of our portfolio model over the past five years are critical in supporting our ability to deliver stronger profitability while giving more consistent financial results, as we minimize the impact of specific market conditions in any given segment or geography. For example, as part of this operating strategy, in Fresh Chicken we are able to leverage our well-balanced mix of bird sizes to support key customers’ needs while in prepared foods, we could utilize our well-regarded Pierce brand to lead our efforts in building and solidifying relationships at key accounts.”

“During 2015, we paid out $1.5 billion in special dividend, acquired additional Mexican operations to improve our geographic diversification and competitiveness in one of the strongest emerging markets, and repurchased $99.2 million in shares, signifying our commitment to maximizing shareholder value creation while remaining financially disciplined.”

“Our cash flow generation was strong and our team remained relentless in identifying additional methods to increase operational efficiencies, enhance relationships with key customers, and build competitive advantages. To further support these initiatives and maximize return on capital, we have approved a targeted capital spending deployment for 2016, which enhances our growth prospects, improves our ability to partner with key customers and supports their growth. Additionally, our team has identified $185 million in operational improvements for 2016, to build on the over $1.0 billion in cumulative improvements we have made to the business in the last five years. We are committed to reinvesting our strong cash flow generation back into the business with the goal of more closely aligning with this strategy and optimizing our capital allocation, while remaining on track on the relentless pursuit of operational excellence.”

Conference Call Information

A conference call to discuss Pilgrim’s quarterly results will be held tomorrow, February 11, at 7:00 a.m. MT (9 a.m. ET).  Participants are encouraged to pre-register for the conference call using the link below.  Callers who pre-register will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call and bypass the live operator.  Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time.

To pre-register, go to: http://services.choruscall.com/links/ppc160211.html 

You may also reach the pre-registration link by logging in through the investor section of our website at www.pilgrims.com and clicking on the link under “Upcoming Events.”

For those who would like to join the call but have not pre-registered, access is available by dialing +1 (866) 777-2509 within the US, or +1 (412) 317-5413, and requesting the “Pilgrim’s Pride Conference.” Please note that to submit a question to management during the call, you must be logged in via telephone.

Replays of the conference call will be available on Pilgrim’s website approximately two hours after the call concludes and can be accessed through the “Investor” section of www.pilgrims.com. The webcast will be available for replay through May 11, 2016.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

Pilgrim’s employs approximately 39,000 people and operates chicken processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 12 states, Puerto Rico and Mexico.  The Company’s primary distribution is through retailers and foodservice distributors.  For more information, please visit www.pilgrims.com. 

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that state the intentions, plans, hopes, beliefs, anticipations, expectations or predictions of the future of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and its management are considered forward-looking statements. It is important to note that actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements include: matters affecting the poultry industry generally; the ability to execute the Company’s business plan to achieve desired cost savings and profitability; future pricing for feed ingredients and the Company’s products; outbreaks of avian influenza or other diseases, either in Pilgrim’s Pride’s flocks or elsewhere, affecting its ability to conduct its operations and/or demand for its poultry products; contamination of Pilgrim’s Pride’s products, which has previously and can in the future lead to product liability claims and product recalls; exposure to risks related to product liability, product recalls, property damage and injuries to persons, for which insurance coverage is expensive, limited and potentially inadequate; management of cash resources; restrictions imposed by, and as a result of, Pilgrim’s Pride’s leverage; changes in laws or regulations affecting Pilgrim’s Pride’s operations or the application thereof; new immigration legislation or increased enforcement efforts in connection with existing immigration legislation that cause the costs of doing business to increase, cause Pilgrim’s Pride to change the way in which it does business, or otherwise disrupt its operations; competitive factors and pricing pressures or the loss of one or more of Pilgrim’s Pride’s largest customers; currency exchange rate fluctuations, trade barriers, exchange controls, expropriation and other risks associated with foreign operations; disruptions in international markets and distribution channel, including anti-dumping proceedings and countervailing duty proceedings; and the impact of uncertainties of litigation as well as other risks described under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

PILGRIM’S PRIDE CORPORATION
Selected Financial Information
(Unaudited)

“EBITDA” is defined as the sum of net income (loss) plus interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.  “Adjusted EBITDA” is calculated by adding to EBITDA certain items of expense and deducting from EBITDA certain items of income that we believe are not indicative of our ongoing operating performance consisting of: (i) income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests, (ii) restructuring charges, (iii) reorganization items, (iv) losses on early extinguishment of debt and (v) foreign currency transaction losses (gains). EBITDA is presented because it is used by management and we believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties, in addition to and not in lieu of results prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the US (“GAAP”), to compare the performance of companies.  We believe investors would be interested in our Adjusted EBITDA because this is how our management analyzes EBITDA.  The Company also believes that Adjusted EBITDA, in combination with the Company’s financial results calculated in accordance with GAAP, provides investors with additional perspective regarding the impact of certain significant items on EBITDA and facilitates a more direct comparison of its performance with its competitors.  EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measurements of financial performance under GAAP.  They should not be considered as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities or as a measure of liquidity or an alternative to net income as indicators of our operating performance or any other measures of performance derived in accordance with GAAP.

The summary unaudited consolidated income statement data for the twelve months ended December 27, 2015 (the LTM Period) have been calculated by summing each of the unaudited thirteen week periods within the audited fifty-two week period ended December 27, 2015.

A reconciliation of net income (loss) attributable to Pilgrim's Pride Corporation per common diluted share to adjusted net income (loss) attributable to Pilgrim's Pride Corporation per common diluted share is as follows:

Net debt is defined as total long term debt less current maturities, plus current maturities of long term debt and notes payable, minus cash, cash equivalents and investments in available-for-sale securities.  Net debt is presented because it is used by management, and we believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other parties, in addition to and not in lieu of debt as presented under GAAP, to compare the indebtedness of companies.  A reconciliation of net debt is as follows:

Contact: Dunham Winoto
Director, Investor Relations
IRPPC@pilgrims.com
(970) 506-8192
www.pilgrims.com