JBS reported a small year-over-year increase in net revenue for its Seara business unit for the fourth quarter of fiscal year of 2023, but a slight decrease in net revenue for the full year.
The company announced its 2023 financial results on March 26.
Seara, the company’s Brazil-based poultry subsidiary, recorded a net revenue of US$2.1 billion (BRL10.5 billion), an increase of 1% compared to 4Q22, and in 2023 net revenue reached US$8.3 billion, a reduction of 0.6% in the annual comparison. For both the quarter and the full year, net revenue was impacted by lower average prices, despite higher volumes sold, JBS revealed.
Financial results for other JBS-affilated poultry companies -- Pilgrim’s Pride, Pilgrim’s Mexico and Moy Park – are not factored into Seara’s financial reporting, but instead in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation’s financial reporting.
Domestic market
Seara’s sales in the domestic market, which accounted for 52% of the unit's revenue for the fourth quarter, totaled US$1.1 billion, 6% lower than 4Q22, reflecting lower prices in the period. However, sales records were broken for Christmas products. The Fiesta brand grew 38% in volume in 2023, more than double the market, which grew 14%.
Foreign market
In the foreign market, net revenue in dollars reached US$1 billion for the fourth quarter, representing an increase of 1% compared to the same quarter of 2022. That improvement was driven by a 3% growth in volumes sold. However, for the full year, net revenue totaled US$4.1 billion, a 5% year-over-year drop, influenced by the 10% reduction in average prices, as a result of the global excess supply of poultry, primarily during the first half of the year.
JBS optimistic about 2024
JBS stated that despite continuous margin improvements on a quarter-over-quarter basis for the Seara business, the results were below expectations.
The company said it faced both internal and external challenges, including the global oversupply of poultry, high production costs, high grain prices and costs related to the ramp-up of new plants.
However, the company is taking action to overcome those challenges.
“We identified issues and took action to adopt management measures based on our culture, with a focus on people and discipline in execution,” JBS CEO Gilberto Tomazoni stated. “The results of these measures are already being felt. The outlook at Seara for 2024 is positive, with significant improvement already seen in the first quarter of the year, which is traditionally challenging for the sector. Seara is now well-positioned to reap the rewards of investments in expansion made in recent years.”
