Tyson Foods Q1 Profit Up 22%, Results Beat View; Reiterates Outlook

(RTTNews) - Meat products maker Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN) on Friday reported a 22 percent increase in profit for the first quarter from last year on double-digit sales growth amid higher volume and pricing.

Both revenue and adjusted earnings per share for the quarter beat analysts' expectations. Looking ahead, the company reiterated its adjusted earnings outlook.

Tyson Foods' first-quarter net income attributable to the company rose to $309 million or $0.74 per share from $254 million or $0.72 per share in the year ago quarter.

Adjusted earnings for the latest quarter were $0.77 per share, compared to $0.72 per share in the prior-year period. On average, eleven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.73 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Sales for the quarter increased 24 percent to $10.82 billion from $8.76 billion in the previous-year quarter. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $10.35 billion.

Total sales volume during the quarter rose 7.7 percent from last year, while average price increased 14.7 percent.

During the quarter, sales volume of chicken improved 3.1 percent, Pork volume improved 1.1 percent, and Prepared Foods volume climbed 89.5 percent from last year. Meanwhile, sales volume of beef declined 2.7 percent and international operations volume decreased 3.8 percent.

Tyson Foods said it was proceeding with the integration of Hillshire Brands and achieved $60 million in synergies in the first quarter. The company added that it was confident of exceeding the $225 million synergy target for the year.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2015, Tyson Foods reiterated its outlook for adjusted earnings in a range of $3.30 to $3.40 per share. The company expects sales for the year to approximate $42 billion, as it integrates Hillshire Brands and continue to accelerate growth in domestic value-added chicken sales and Prepared Food sale.

Street expects the company to earn $3.40 per share on revenues of $42.29 billion.

Further, the company reaffirmed its full-year outlook for overall domestic protein production (chicken, beef, pork and turkey) to increase about 1 percent from fiscal 2014 levels. The company expects grain supplies to increase, resulting in lower input costs as well as decreased costs for cattle and hog producers.

TSN is trading at $39.68, down $0.53 or 1.32 percent on a volume of 3.02 million shares.