Tyson revenue, profit, miss as slaughterhouse fire hits beef business

[November 12, 2019]  (Reuters) - Tyson Foods Inc fell short of Wall Street estimates for quarterly sales and profit on Tuesday as a fire at one of its slaughterhouses hit volumes in its beef business, the company's biggest segment.

Tyson Foods brand frozen chicken wings are pictured in a grocery store freezer in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S. May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Shares of the maker of Ball Park hotdogs and Jimmy Dean sausages fell about 4% before the bell. They have gained nearly 55% this year.

The fire at Tyson's Holcomb, Kansas, slaughterhouse in August left meat buyers for restaurants, food service companies and grocery chains scrambling for beef.

As a result, volumes in the business fell 4.2% in the fourth quarter ended Sept. 28, with sales down 1.3%.

The fire also resulted in $31 million of net incremental costs, the company said.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.21 per share, compared with the average analyst estimate of $1.29, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Total sales rose nearly 9% to $10.88 billion on strength in its pork and chicken segments, but missed the estimate of $11 billion.

Net income attributable to Tyson fell to $369 million, or $1.01 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Sept. 28, from $537 million, or $1.47 per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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