JBS Sales To Middle East & Africa Expand

BRAZIL - JBS exported US$389 million to the two regions in the first quarter, which is 16 per cent of its total foreign sales.

12 May 2011

2 minute read

South America

The share of Middle Eastern and African countries in revenues of the Brazilian group JBS, the world's leading processor of animal protein, has increased, according to the ANBA news agency. According to the results announced this week, JBS exported the equivalent of US$2.45 billion in the first quarter this year. Out of that total, 15.9 per cent was shipped to countries in Africa and the Middle East, at a value of $389 million.

Total revenues from exports in the first quarter represent an increase of 17.4 per cent over the first three months of 2010. During that period, 14.9 per cent of the products exported were shipped to Africa and the Middle East. In the first quarter of last year, exports reached $1.765 billion, of which Africa and the Middle East accounted for 16 per cent.

In a report, the JBS group informs that it posted a net profit of 147 million Brazilian reals (BRR; $91.4 million) in the first three months this year, 47.9 per cent more than in the same period of 2010, and that it has reversed losses incurred in the last quarter of last year due to the restructuring of units purchased.

Net revenues reached BRR14.672 billion ($9.1 billion) and grew by 20.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year. The EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) reached BRR835.9 million ($520.1 million), three per cent less than in the same period of last year.

In a statement, JBS claims that all of its units recorded double-digit increases in revenues from the first quarter of 2010 to the first quarter of 2011. JBS ascribes the increase to higher average prices, especially in foreign countries.

In Brazil, JBS owns 17 brands, such as Swift, Faixa Azul, Leco, Friboi, Danubio and Vigor. In the United States and Australia, the company controls Swift, Pilgrim’s, LaHerencia, Country Pride and Angus Select, among others, at a total of 27 brands. JBS is the world's leading producer of bovine and ovine meat, the second leading poultry producer, and the leading producer of leathers. In 2010, the company posted revenues of BRR54 billion ($33.6 billion). In the Arab countries, the company operates with a distribution centre in Egypt and commercial offices in the United Arab Emirates and Algeria.