LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
October 28 2020 - 6:01PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Pilgrim's Pride's 3Q Profit Falls, Weighed by Higher Costs,
Fine
Pilgrim's Pride Corp. said profit fell in the third quarter,
weighed by higher costs and expenses and a fine paid to the U.S.
Justice Department to resolve price-fixing charges, as the company
saw a rebound in demand from the U.S. and Mexico and improvement in
its European business from challenges presented by the Covid-19
pandemic.
The chicken processor said net profit was $33.4 million, or 14
cents a share, down from $109.8 million, or 44 cents a share, in
the comparable quarter a year ago. Excluding the fine, adjusting
earnings were 66 cents a share, the company said. Analysts surveyed
by FactSet expected an adjusted profit of 34 cents a share.
China's Farms Bouncing Back from Hog Pandemic -- Market Talk
0904 ET - Chinese hog farmers are racing to rebuild the
country's world-leading hog herd after a swine fever pandemic
killed off an estimated 40% of the livestock, and commodity trader
Bunge said the effort shows in rising demand for soybean meal. CEO
Greg Heckman says industry estimates put China's hog supply
"halfway back" to prior levels, and that more commercial-scale
farms are boosting soybean meal in their hogs' diets to help them
pack on pounds faster. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
IHOP Parent Dine Brands 3Q Profit, Revenue Fall
Dine Brands Global Inc. said its profit and revenue fell for the
third quarter due to restrictions on dine-in service during the
Covid-19 pandemic.
The Glendale, Calif.-based parent of Applebee's and IHOP
restaurant chains Wednesday posted a profit of $10 million, or 60
cents a share, compared with a profit of $23.9 million, or $1.36 a
share, in the comparable quarter last year.
Adjusted earnings were 80 cents a share. Analysts polled by
FactSet were expecting an adjusted profit of 37 cents a share.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Covid-19 Surge Won't Hit as Hard as the First, Bunge Says --
Market Talk
0852 ET - The global food industry's first go-round with
Covid-19 has helped it better prepare for the latest wave of
infections, says Greg Heckman, CEO of agribusiness company Bunge.
"As we've been through the cycle once, people adjust their supply
chains," Heckman says on Bunge's quarterly conference call. "The
shift won't be as dramatic, and people will be prepared." Fast-food
restaurants rebounded faster than Bunge anticipated, and packaged
food demand has remained very strong, he said.
(jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
Virtual Brand Pays off for Brinker -- Market Talk
12:23 ET - Brinker International says it didn't follow the
industry trend in reducing menu items during the pandemic, and
instead took the risk to add a virtual-only brand. That's paying
off, the casual-dining chain says, and "It's Just Wings" is on
track to do $150M in sales in its first year, executives say in 1Q
earnings. That helped the company beat expectations for earnings
and same-store sales. Chain executives say they expect to add more
virtual brands where they believe there are markets for them, and
that their scale helps them compete on third-party marketplace
DoorDash with other online offerings. (heather.haddon@wsj.com;
@heatherhaddon)
Cheese Makers Reel as Pandemic Sows Market Chaos
The U.S. cheese industry is reeling from seven months of chaos
as the coronavirus pandemic causes upheaval in prices and
demand.
Prices for cheeses from mozzarella to cheddar hit near-record
highs this month, but cheese makers are on edge after sharp swings
in demand have thrown their production plans into disarray. Those
soaring prices have also scrambled planning for buyers from pizza
chains to grocery stores, prompting restaurants to limit purchases
to avoid getting stuck with expensive inventories if the pandemic
slashes business again.
FUTURES MARKETS
Hog Futures Slump For Second Day -- Market Talk
16:19 ET - Lean hog futures trading on the CME drop for a second
straight session, falling 1.9% to 66.375 cents per pound. The move
in futures is related to a similar drop in pork cutouts, with
carcass cutouts shedding roughly $15 per hundredweight in the past
five days, or 15.2%, to $83.73 per cwt according to the USDA.
Futures values, meanwhile, have fallen 4.6% in that time period.
Live cattle futures close trading up 0.6% at $1.04675 per pound.
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Oct 28
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Oct 28 +$ 40.42 +$ 52.70
Oct 27 +$ 47.71 +$ 61.81
Oct 26 +$ 55.10 +$ 68.01
* 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 89.3
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 93.1
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday fell 91 cents per
hundred pounds, to $205.79, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose 91 cents per hundred pounds, to $189.58. The total load
count was 173. Wholesale pork prices fell $4.24, to $83.58 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 28, 2020 17:46 ET (21:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.