Release Details

PITTSBURG, Texas, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NYSE: PPC), the nation's second-largest chicken company, today reported that it received virtually no damage to its Company-owned facilities and minimal damage to its contracted growing facilities as Hurricane Rita passed through East Texas, Western Louisiana and Southern Arkansas over the weekend. Additionally, the number of chickens lost as a result of the storm was insignificant to its operations.

As a result of the power disruption in the Lufkin and Nacogdoches, Texas, area, the Company's Lufkin and Nacogdoches processing plants have shifted their production to other Pilgrim's Pride facilities temporarily, and are expected to be fully back into operation by Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Port of Houston, which is a major port utilized by the Company, reported receiving no significant damage and is expected to be fully operational by mid-to late this week, once a sufficient number of people have returned to the evacuated areas. None of the Company's products stored in the area is expected to have been affected, including that in the Company's Houston distribution center.

Additionally, the Company's independent contract growers in the area reported receiving minimal damage from the effects of the storm. However, many farms in the Lufkin and Nacogdoches, Texas, area and a few in Southern Arkansas, are currently operating under backup generator power, which will continue until public power to these areas is restored.

Specifically, of the Company's approximately 1,850 independent contract chicken grow-out farms in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, and approximately 3,400 throughout the United States, only two reported substantial damage.

Additionally, of the Company's approximately 470 independent contract breeder and breeder-pullet grow-out farms in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, and approximately 1,200 throughout the United States, only one reported substantial damage.

While several additional independent contract grow-out farms received minor amounts of wind damage, none of these are expected to cause an interruption to the contract services provided by these facilities to the Company.

O.B. Goolsby, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pilgrim's Pride, stated, "I would like to thank the many government officials, Pilgrim's Pride employees and independent contract growers for their efforts in preparing the impacted areas of the country and our operations and facilities to address the storm's potential impact last week as it was approaching. These plans and efforts had us in a ready state to handle the anticipated loss of electricity, fuel and water, enabling us to react quickly to areas where disruptions were likely. While we are very fortunate that Hurricane Rita's strength diminished as it reached landfall and our operations inland from the coast, these advance planning efforts had us well prepared to handle a situation that could potentially have been much worse."

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 the resumption of operations at the Company's Lufkin and Nacogdoches, Texas processing plants and the Port of Houston, 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: when electrical power is made available to the Company's operations in Lufkin and Nacogdoches and the return of employees and operations at the Port of Houston, 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