Release Details

GREELEY, Colo., May 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) reports first quarter 2017 financial results.

First Quarter Highlights

• Net Sales of $2.02 billion.
• Net Income of $93.9 million, GAAP EPS of $0.38.
• Operating Income margins of 7.7% in U.S. and 6.6% in Mexico operations, respectively.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $204.0 million (or a 10.1% margin).
• Cash Flow from Operations of $61.5 million.
• GNP integration is on track with additional synergies already identified increasing total annualized run-rate to $30 million, up from $20 million before.
• Completion of previously announced capital investments, including strategic projects in organic and NAE, will deliver better product mix to reduce impact of commodity markets, strengthen operational efficiencies as well as tailored customer needs, and improve margin profile.

"In-line with expectations, our Q1 results improved sequentially from Q4 driven by stronger results at our U.S. operations while Mexico continued to deliver solid performance despite less favorable FX impact on cost. Highlighting the diversity of our portfolio of bird sizes, small bird and tray-pack have remained strong during the period, while large bird deboning has rebounded from a weaker than expected January and continued to improve with stronger exports and increasing domestic demand. With summer grilling season nearing and a supportive export environment, we expect profits for our large birds to further increase, given the improved cutout. Our exposure to multiple bird sizes through our well-balanced portfolio will provide an opportunity for us to capture the improvement in performance across all bird segments," stated Bill Lovette, Chief Executive Officer of Pilgrim's.

"The GNP integration is proceeding well and we have already identified additional synergies to add to the prior $20 million target, which puts us at a higher, revised annualized run-rate of $30 million. We have a sustainable competitive advantage in the upper Midwest and the potential to expand into new markets with the Gold'n Plump brand as well as the new premium Just BARE chicken in the "better for you" category. We already started to grow and leverage our combined product offerings by introducing a new line of fully-cooked sausages under the Gold'n Plump brand to complement the NAE veg-fed  fully cooked line of artisanal chicken sausages we launched recently, giving us a great solution to satisfy every consumer segment in this growing category."

"The completion of some of our previously announced capital investments, including strategic projects in organic and NAE segments, will further diversify our portfolio by improving mix and offering more differentiated, customized solutions as well as innovative products to serve key customer requirements, reducing the impact of commodity markets, and further raising our margin profile. We are also increasing our capital investment target for 2017 to $250 million from $220 million to reflect the acquisition of GNP, higher than depreciation and just slightly below last year's record level."

Conference Call Information

A conference call to discuss Pilgrim's quarterly results will be held tomorrow, May 4, 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/ppc170504.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 (844) 883-3889 within the US, or +1 (412) 317-9245 internationally, 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 August 4, 2017.

About Pilgrim's Pride

Pilgrim's employs approximately 41,900 people and operates chicken processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 14 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 March 26, 2017 (the LTM Period) have been calculated by subtracting the applicable unaudited consolidated income statement data for the three months ended March 27, 2016 from the sum of (1) the applicable audited consolidated income statement data for the year ended December 25, 2016 and (2) the applicable audited consolidated income statement data for the three months ended March 26, 2017.

EBITDA margins have been calculated by taking the relevant unaudited EBITDA figures, then dividing by Net Revenue for the applicable period.

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:

A reconciliation of GAAP earnings per share (EPS) to adjusted earnings per share (EPS) 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

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