Pilgrim's Pride Corporation Named to FORTUNE's 'Fastest-Growing Companies' List
PITTSBURG, Texas, Sept 06, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NYSE: PPC), the country's second-largest poultry producer, was recently named one of FORTUNE magazine's 100 Fastest-Growing Companies for 2005.
"Pilgrim's Pride has produced exceptional growth, rapid improvement and results that have exceeded expectations," commented O.B. Goolsby, president and chief executive officer of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation. "This recognition as one of FORTUNE's 100 Fastest-Growing Companies for 2005 reaffirms our ongoing commitment to creating value for our shareholders."
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation was the only food company on FORTUNE's 2005 Fastest-Growing Companies list. The company ranked 77th overall on the list, and was 73rd in three-year annual revenue growth rate with a 34% increase. Pilgrim's Pride also beat the S&P 500's 8.3% share price gain in the period from August 10, 2004 to August 10, 2005 with a 24% increase.
FORTUNE's 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list -- "The Hot 100" -- was published in the September 5, 2005 issue of FORTUNE magazine.
Pilgrim's Pride is ranked number 364 on the FORTUNE 500 list of largest U.S. corporations. The company was named one of the "Most Admired Companies in America" by FORTUNE magazine in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
About Pilgrim's Pride Corporation
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is the second-largest poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and the largest chicken producer in Puerto Rico. Pilgrim's Pride employs more than 40,000 people and has major operations in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Mexico and Puerto Rico, with other facilities in Arizona, Florida, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Utah and Wisconsin.
Pilgrim's Pride products are sold to foodservice, retail and frozen entree customers. The Company's primary distribution is through retailers, foodservice distributors and restaurants throughout the United States and Puerto Rico and in the Northern and Central regions of Mexico. For more information, please visit http://www.pilgrimspride.com .
Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements contained in this press release that state the intentions, hopes, beliefs, anticipations, expectations, outlooks or predictions of the future of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation and its management, including the expectations regarding quarterly earnings, poultry prices and feed ingredient costs for the remainder of fiscal year 2005, are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that the 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, including fluctuations in the commodity prices of feed ingredients, chicken and turkey; additional outbreaks of avian influenza or other diseases affecting the production performance and/or marketability of the company's poultry products; contamination of our products, which has recently 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 our cash resources, particularly in light of our leverage; restrictions imposed by and as a result of, our leverage; currency exchange rate fluctuations, trade barriers, exchange controls, expropriation and other risks associated with foreign operations; changes in laws or regulations affecting our operations or the application thereof as well as competitive factors and pricing pressures; risks associated with the acquisition of ConAgra Foods' chicken division including possible unknown liabilities assumed in connection with the acquisition and loss of customers of the acquired business; inability to recognize the anticipated cost savings and anticipated benefits in connection with our turkey division restructuring; and the impact of uncertainties of litigation as well as other risks described under "Risk Factors" in our 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.
SOURCE Pilgrim's Pride Corporation
Media Contact
Cameron Bruett
Communications
Phone: +1 970.506.7801 | Email: cameron.bruett@jbssa.com