MCD McDonalds Corp

TOP STORIES

Pilgrim's Pride Profit Drops Sharply, But Results Beat Projections

Pilgrim's Pride Corp. will pay shareholders a special dividend of $2.75 a share next month, the company said Wednesday as it reported sharply lower first-quarter profit largely tied to a drop in U.S. exports since last year's bird-flu outbreak.

The payout--roughly $700 million--will be made on May 18 to shareholders of record as of May 10.

Shares, down 4% over the past 12 months, rose 7% to $25.10 in after-hours trading.

Over all, for the 13 weeks ended March 27, Pilgrim's Pride reported a profit of $118.4 million, or 46 cents a share, down from $204.2 million, or 79 cents a share, a year earlier.

Sales fell 4% to $1.96 billion.

Mondelez Profit Rises as Margins Strengthen--Update

Mondelez International Inc., maker of Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers, said its profit margins continued to improve in the first quarter despite weakening demand for its snacks in several key countries.

Economic slowdowns in China, Brazil and Russia are weighing on Mondelez, which derives some 80% of its revenue from overseas markets, suggesting that situations there have worsened.

Over all, Mondelez reported a first-quarter profit of $554 million, or 35 cents a share, up from $324 million, or 19 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring-related expenses and other items, adjusted per-share earnings rose to 48 cents from 41 cents.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Pilgrim's Pivots to Organic Chicken -- Market Talk

16:50 ET - No. 2 US chicken processor Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) says it will convert one of its facilities to produce USDA-certified organic chicken, the latest indication of how Western consumers' growing focus on health and sustainability are forcing change at food giants that have built empires on low-cost, large-scale production. Pilgrim's will "deploy valuable resources, when necessary, to accelerate our growth by offering creative solutions to fulfill emerging consumer demand preference trends for more natural products," CEO Bill Lovette says, though doesn't specify how much of PPC's chicken will go organic. PPC last year announced a big push into chicken raised without antibiotics, and its organic plan comes as 1Q net income slides 42% following slowdown in US chicken exports. PPC climbs 6.9% after hours. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

Competition, Labor Cost Troubles for El Pollo Loco -- Market Talk

12:48 ET - SunTrust cuts El Pollo Loco (LOCO) to neutral as it faces increased promotional pressure and rising labor costs. SunTrust thinks it will be hard for LOCO win back lost value-conscious customers from larger rivals McDonald's (MCD), Wendy's (WEN) and Burger King (QSR). California, where LOCO gets the lion's share of revenue, has also become a battleground with golden state rivals Taco Bell (YUM) and Jack in the Box (JACK). As for labor costs, California raised the minimum wage earlier this year, and plans for more increases, creating ongoing margin pressure. SunTrust cuts price target $1 to $15. LOCO off 9% at $13.58, but still up 7% YTD. (patrick.sheridan@wsj.com)

Heavy Trading in New McDonald's Euro Bonds -- Market Talk

0911 GMT More than EUR100 million of McDonald's new EUR2.5 billion triple-trancher is trading in the secondary market a day after the bond was issued. The 1.75% 2028 leg is stealing the show, having been traded more than 70 times, with volumes approaching EUR75 billion Wednesday. This makes it the most heavily traded bond in the entire secondary euro market, according to Trax, a subsidiary of MarketAxess. The issue attracted more than EUR14 billion of orders in the primary market on Tuesday. It was a case of another U.S. issuer making use of lower borrowing costs in euros compared to U.S. dollars, BayernLB says. (tasos.vossos@dowjones.com, @tasosvos)

FUTURES MARKETS

Prices of U.S. Cattle Futures Slip From One-Week Peaks; Hogs Advance

CHICAGO--Prices of cattle futures ended the trading session lower on Wednesday, pressured by profit-taking, as investors searched for fresh signs of demand.

April live-cattle futures slid 0.8 cent, or 0.6%, to $1.2600 a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, after climbing to a one-week high on Tuesday. Most-actively traded cattle for June declined 0.95 cent to $1.1780 a pound. Feeder-cattle futures for April were down 0.275 cent at $1.4630 a pound.

CASH MARKETS

Zumbrota, Minn Hog Market Steady At $44.00 - Apr 27

Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market today are steady at $44.00 per hundredweight.

Sow prices are steady. Sows weighing under 450 pounds are $34.00-$35.00,

400-450 pounds are at $34.00-$35.00, 450-500 pounds are $34.00-$35.00 and those over 500 pounds are $36.00-$37.00.

The day's total run is estimated at 100 head.

Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association.

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Apr 27 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically 
                             integrated operations 
                                      * 
Apr 27       +$20.43             +$ 33.46 
Apr 26       +$24.34             +$ 33.74 
Apr 25       +$24.08             +$ 31.05 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of 
production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                 Beef 
          For Today             Choice   83.4 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select   82.9 
 

USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday fell $3.76 per hundred pounds, to $214.81, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell $4.79 per hundred pounds, to $205.59. The total load count was 197. Wholesale pork prices fell 13 cents, to $81.30 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 27, 2016 17:44 ET (21:44 GMT)

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