Pilgrim's Pride President and CEO Comments on Avian Influenza
PITTSBURG, Texas, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NYSE: PPC) which yesterday announced that it was raising its previously issued earnings guidance for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 to a range of $1.07 to $1.12 per share versus the $0.90 to $1.00 per share range previously communicated by the company, and that it had acquired a prepared foods plant in Bossier City, La., today released the following statements from O.B. Goolsby, Jr., president and chief executive officer, regarding the incidences of avian influenza ("bird flu") in parts of Asia and Eastern Europe:
"The type of avian influenza that has been reported in parts of Asia and Europe known as highly pathogenic H5N1 was first identified in Hong Kong in 1997. It has continued to be present in various parts of Asia since that time; however, there is no history of this virus occurring in the United States, and it is not in this country now.
"While a limited number of humans in Asia have contracted H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza, this is still a very rare occurrence, and scientists believe that these individuals contracted the virus through direct contact with infected birds or through raw poultry consumption patterns not practiced in the United States.
"Conditions in the U.S. poultry industry are radically different from those in Asia and Eastern Europe, where there are numerous free-range growing operations, the common presence of backyard flocks in areas of the general population, the sale of live chickens directly to consumers, and live birds cohabitating with high-density human populations.
"The fact remains that H5N1 is not currently spreading in long chains from person to person in Asia. In fact, according to the CDC, the spread of the H5N1 virus from person to person has been rare and has not continued beyond one person.
"Most importantly, consumers located in areas of the world where this avian influenza virus has been identified need to understand that there is no danger of acquiring the virus from eating normally and properly cooked poultry.
"Our top priority at Pilgrim's Pride is to provide a safe, nutritious, affordable product for consumers, and to ensure the health and well being of our flocks, employees and contract growers. Pilgrim's Pride consistently practices stringent biosecurity measures, conducts regular testing, and takes necessary precautions aimed at keeping avian influenza out of our flocks and insuring the health and well being of our customers, employees and growers."
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 or predictions of the future of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation and its management, including the earnings guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 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
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Cameron Bruett
Communications
Phone: +1 970.506.7801 | Email: cameron.bruett@jbssa.com