UNITED STATES-U.S. Premium Beef Reports Improved Earnings
U.S. Premium Beef’s (USPB) financial results improved significantly in the second quarter of fiscal year 2009 as compared to the same period in the prior fiscal year. For the quarter, which ended February 28, 2009, USPB recorded a net income of $31.4 million compared to a net loss of $7.6 million for the same period in the prior fiscal year.
For the year-to-date period, USPB had a net income of $28.2 million, or $38.33 per set of linked units (one Class A and one Class B unit), compared to a net loss of $21.3 million, or $28.91 per set of linked units, for the same period in the prior fiscal year, which was an improvement of $49.5 million.
"Our company’s net sales were higher in the year-to-date period than those of the prior year period primarily due to a relatively small increase in the average sales prices per head which was partially offset by fewer cattle being processed in the current year," points out CEO Steve Hunt. "A relatively stable demand for beef products allowed the sales prices to cover the cost of the live cattle that we processed during the first half of the fiscal year.
"Consumer spending and the demand for all proteins, especially beef, continues to dampen our industry’s outlook," Hunt explains. "However, declining cattle and competing meat supplies should be supportive to prices in the next several months.
"The global economic concerns remain, but the value of the U.S. dollar has declined and could begin to be supportive to beef exports," he adds. "Beef by-product values remain under severe pressure. Consequently, boxed beef and the related value added programs will need to carry a larger percentage of our total processing returns in the coming months."
USPB’s unique advantage continues to be the high quality cattle our producers deliver, which enables us to generate more value from the cattle we harvest and provides new marketing opportunities.