Smithfield Profit Up 36% on Improved Sales

Smithfield Foods Inc., the largest U.S. hog producer, said fiscal second-quarter profit rose 36% as pork sales improved and the company benefited from its expansion into the beef business.

Net income rose to $60.5 million, or 56 cents a share, in the three months ended Oct. 28, from $44.6 million, or 40 cents, in the year-earlier period. Results exceeded the 53 cents analysts expected, based on a Thomson Financial/First Call survey. Revenue rose to $1.67 billion from $1.43 billion.

Shares of the Smithfield, Va.-based company fell 7 cents to close at $23.03 on the NYSE, after gaining as much as 90 cents to a record $24. The stock is up 65% over the last year.

Hog production remained Smithfield’s most profitable business in the recent quarter, with operating profit rising 36% to $99 million. Smithfield’s meat production business benefited from improved U.S. demand for pork, increased exports to Japan and expanded sales by beef processors acquired this year.