Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale reported on Monday fiscal 2017 income of $1.77 billion, which the company said represented a record earnings per share of $5.31.
Tyson’s income was a slight increase from $1.76 billion in 2016. Earnings per share for fiscal 2016 was $4.39.
Revenue for fiscal 2017 was $38.2 billion, up from $36.8 billion in 2016.
Fourth-quarter revenue was $10.1 billion, up from $9.2 billion in the same quarter of 2016. Income for the quarter was $394 million, up from $391 million, and earnings per share was $1.43, an increase from $0.96 a year ago.
“The fourth quarter was a strong finish to another record year,” said Tyson President and CEO Tom Hayes.
Hayes praised the results of the company’s beef and chicken segments. Beef saw sales of $3.8 billion in 2017, up from $3.4 billion a year ago; operating income for beef for the quarter and fiscal year saw significant increases: $305 million in the fourth quarter, up from $139 million, and $877 million for the year, up from $347 million.
Operating income for chicken was also up. Quarterly income was $121 million, up from $108 million, and fiscal operating income was $645 million, up from $528 million.
“Our Beef and Pork segments delivered outstanding returns for the quarter and for the year, again generating significant cash to fuel investments in our Chicken and Prepared Foods segments,” Hayes said.
The Chicken segment had quarterly operating income of $263 million, up from $220 million, but yearly operating income was slightly more than $1 billion, down from $1.3 billion in 2016. Prepared foods had quarterly operating income of $11 million, down from $133 million in the same quarter a year ago, while annual operating income was $462 million, down from $734 million.
The company said operating income in chicken and prepared foods dropped due to increased compensation, two plant fires and restructuring related to the acquisition of AdvancePierre Foods, which Tyson bought for $4.2 billion this past summer. After the acquisition, Tyson reorganized its leadership team to put Sally Grimes in charge of prepared foods, Doug Ramsey in charge of chicken and Noel White in charge of beef and pork.
“Fiscal 2017 was a year of great change and, despite some challenges, our team remained focused on the long term by keeping consumer relevance, customer growth and shareholder value creation at the forefront,” Hayes said. “Not only did we generate exceptional financial results, we also strengthened the foundation needed to accelerate growth through several initiatives. We refined our strategy and put in place a new management team to implement it.”
Acquisition
Also Monday, Tyson Foods announced that it had completed its acquisition of Original Philly Holdings of Philadelphia, which makes raw and fully-cooked Philly-style sandwich steak and cheesesteak appetizer products.
“Original Philly Holdings is a natural, strategic fit with our Prepared Foods Business,” Grimes said in a news release. “The Original Philly brand and portfolio of products are highly regarded in the foodservice industry and have a growing list of customer relationships with chain and convenience store operators.”
The company consists of two business units: Original Philly Cheesesteak Company, which makes raw Philly Style sandwich steak products, and Philadelphia Pre-Cooked Steak Company, which makes fully-cooked Philly-style sandwich steak products.
Customers include foodservice, retail and convenience store providers. The company employs 250 people and operates two plants in Philadelphia.
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