US meat packer Tyson Foods has said that it anticipates an improved set of results in the coming year, after posting mounting full-year losses.

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In a filing yesterday (23 November), Tyson said that net losses for the 12-month period grew to US$537m compared to an income of $86m in the previous year.


However, management insisted during a conference call with analysts that the outlook for this year was more positive, particularly at its loss-making chicken business.


While revenue dipped in the group’s beef and pork businesses, CFO Dennis Leatherby insisted that Tyson had successfully “managed the spread” and that the units had remained “very profitable”.


“Prepared foods is also doing very well with toppings, tortilla, crust, bacon and lunch meats all meeting expectations,” he added.

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However, while Tyson said that “parts” of its chicken segment “are doing well now”, Leatherby insisted that actions the group was taking to improve the business would yield dividends in the coming year.


During the fourth quarter, Tyson’s chicken business posted operating income of $32m, with an operating margin of 1.2%, an improvement over the fourth quarter of the previous year when the unit saw losses of $91m and a negative 3.8% operating margin.


“And 2010 will be better,” Leatherby insisted. “But we’re still facing some challenges, we know what needs to be fixed and we know how to fix it. The issues vary from location to location, but we have specific plans in place to tackle. In general, we’ve got to grow our volume, improve our return on sales, protect our cash and keep inventory on target. We need to fill up our plants and get better yield, lot efficiencies and labour efficiencies.”


“Fiscal 2010 should be a much better year,” insisted Jim Lochner, Tyson’s new chief operating officer. “We think beef, pork and prepared foods will continue with a solid performance, and we expect the steps we’ve taken to improve chicken will manifest themselves.”