Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN): Q2 Earnings Preview 2011

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter earnings before the opening bell on Monday, May 9, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 43 cents per share on revenue of $7.52 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 46 cents per share on revenue of $6.92 billion. 

Tyson Foods, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the production, distribution, and marketing of chicken, beef, pork, prepared foods, and related allied products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Chicken, Beef, Pork and Prepared Foods.

Tyson's recent results indicated that general sales volumes and prices have been strong. In the preceding first quarter, the Springdale, Arkansas based company's net income was $298 million or 78 cents per share, compared to $160 million, or 42 per share. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 75 cents per share in the fourth quarter. Revenue rose 14.8 percent to $7.62 billion from $6.64 billion last year. 

At its last earnings call in February, the company forecast better-than-expected 2011 earnings. Tyson forecast fiscal 2011 earnings to come in comparable to 2010's $2.19 per share, well ahead of analysts' consensus for full-year profits per share of $1.81. For 2011, the company expects overall domestic protein production, comprising chicken, beef, pork and turkey, to increase slightly. Meanwhile, total domestic availability of protein is expected to be down slightly compared to fiscal 2010 due to anticipated growth in exports, which should continue to support pricing. The company expects fiscal 2011 capital expenditures to be approximately $700 million.

Meat producers such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. are continuing to rebound from their low recession levels, as demand remains high and the measures they took to increase efficiency during the recession continue to take effect. The growing wealth in Asia has been a boon to the pork industry, as the meat is popular in this part of the world so demand has been strong.

The company has benefited from higher meat prices, operational improvement and top line sales growth. In addition to improved operational performance, Tyson has reduced its debt load significantly. 

Last month, Donnie Smith, president and chief executive officer of Tyson Foods told the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch 2011 Consumer Conference that Tyson is well positioned to handle challenging economic times. Smith said the company's strong balance sheet, focus on execution and recent operational improvements have allowed the company to compete effectively, even in the face of rising input costs. He said that Tyson's Beef and Pork segments are extremely efficient and competitive, while its Chicken segment has improved significantly. Tyson raises the chickens it produces but purchases the cattle and hogs it needs to produce beef and pork."In the past three years, our chicken business achieved $600 million in performance improvements, and we expect an additional $200 million in fiscal 2011," Smith said.

Full Disclosure: None.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN): Q1 Earnings Preview 2011

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter earnings before the opening bell on Friday, February 4, 2010. Analysts on average expect the company to report earnings of 62 cents per share on revenue of $7.18 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 42 cents per share on revenue of $6.64 billion. 

Tyson Foods, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the production, distribution, and marketing of chicken, beef, pork, prepared foods, and related allied products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Chicken, Beef, Pork and Prepared Foods.

In the preceding fourth quarter, the Springdale, Arkansas based company's net income was $208 million, or 57 cents a share, compared to a loss of $457 million, or $1.23 a share, in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 64 cents per share in the latest quarter. Revenue rose slightly to $7.44 billion from $7.24 billion in the same quarter last year. 

For 2011, the company said overall protein (chicken, beef, pork and turkey) production is expected to increase as exports are likely to grow as well. However, the company sees total domestic availability of protein should be relatively flat compared to 2010. Tyson forecasts chicken production to increase, while domestic availability will depend on export volumes. Because of the less than expected yields in global feed grain crop production, current futures prices indicate higher grain costs in fiscal 2011 compared to fiscal 2010. The company expects to offset the impact of increased grain costs with operational and pricing improvements. For its Beef operations, Tyson projects a gradual reduction in cattle supplies of 1-2 percent in fiscal 2011 and expects beef exports to remain strong in fiscal 2011. In addition, Tyson anticipates hog supplies in fiscal 2011 will be comparable to fiscal 2010 and believes it will have adequate supplies in its operating regions.

The company has benefited from higher meat prices, operational improvement and top line sales growth. In addition to improved operational performance, Tyson has reduced its debt load significantly. 

Meat producers such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. are continuing to rebound from their low recession levels, as demand remains high and the measures they took to increase efficiency during the recession continue to take effect. The growing wealth in Asia has been a boon to the pork industry, as the meat is popular in this part of the world so demand has been strong.

Full Disclosure: None.

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN): Q4 Earnings Preview 2010

Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is scheduled to report third quarter earnings before the opening bell on Monday, November 22, 2010. Analysts on average expect the company to report earnings of 56 cents per share on revenue of $7.75 billion. In the year ago period, the company reported earnings of 28 cents per share on revenue of $7.21 billion. 

Tyson Foods, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the production, distribution, and marketing of chicken, beef, pork, prepared foods, and related allied products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Chicken, Beef, Pork and Prepared Foods.

In the preceding third quarter, the Springdale, Arkansas based company's net income was $248 million, or 65 cents per share, compared to $131 million, or 35 cents per share, in the prior-year quarter. Revenue rose to $7.438 billion from $6.662 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts, on average, expected the company to report earnings of 57 cents per share on revenue of $7.26 billion.

The company has benefited from operational improvement and top line sales growth. In addition to improved operational performance, Tyson has reduced its debt load significantly. The company has generated cash flows sufficient to pay down its debt by more than $900 million through the fiscal third quarter of 2010 to its lowest level since 2001. Debt-to-capital was 34% at the end of the third quarter, while net debt-to-capital (i.e., debt less cash) stood at 26%. Reduced debt should mean reduced interest expense from about $335 million in 2010 to around $245 million in 2011 following recent upgrades in ratings from Standard & Poor's and Moody's, which further reduced interest expense.

Meat producers such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. are continuing to rebound from their low recession levels, as demand remains high and the measures they took to increase efficiency during the recession continue to take effect. The growing wealth in Asia has been a boon to the pork industry, as the meat is popular in this part of the world so demand has been strong. Meanwhile, Russia has now not only lifted its poultry ban but also some of its restrictions on pork imports which is positive for the industry. The opening of Russia to U.S. poultry is being seen as a strong earnings catalyst for chicken processors. However, there are still few concerns as Russia has indicated that the country will will ban sales and processing of deep-frozen poultry meat from January 1, both domestic and imported, because freezing hurts the quality of the meat. Tyson Foods Inc. is the largest U.S. chicken processor based on 2009 production. About 10 percent of its chicken exports last year went to Russia.

Late in September 2010, China announced new tariffs on chicken imports from the US of up to 105%. Tyson and other companies are lobbying Congress and China to remove the new tax, which went into effect on September 27. Tyson's imports will be charged a 50.3% duty. Tyson Foods ships $200 million worth of chicken to China every year.

In terms of stock performance, Tyson Foods shares have gained nearly 21% since the beginning of the year. 

Full Disclosure: None.