LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
April 21 2021 - 5:52PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Chipotle Beats on Earnings as Digital Sales Surge -- Market
Talk
16:30 ET - Chipotle Mexican Grill beats on earnings as online
sales help the burrito chain overcome the pandemic's drag last
year. Chipotle reports 1Q EPS of $4.45, compared with EPS of $2.70
during the same period last year. Adjusted EPS for one-time items
such as restructuring costs and closures related to the pandemic
come in at $5.36--exceeding expectations. Sales of $1.7B at the
Newport Beach, Calif.-based company were slightly below
expectations. The chain benefited from online orders during the
pandemic, and half of its sales in the period ending in March came
from digital transactions. (heather.haddon@wsj.com;
@heatherhaddon)
Tyson Foods Joins Cattle Traceability Program -- Market Talk
09:42 ET - Tyson Foods's beef and pork subsidiary says it is
supporting a cattle disease traceability program called U.S.
CattleTrace. U.S. CattleTrace uses ear tags containing ultra-high
frequency technologies to collect data, including an individual
animal identification number, a GPS location, and date and time.
This is used to track animals in a disease outbreak. "Animal health
and disease traceability are critical issues for the meat industry
and we're hopeful our involvement will help advance industry
efforts to implement this program across the country," says Shane
Miller, group president, Tyson Fresh Meats. "We believe CattleTrace
can help to reduce the risk that animal disease poses to the U.S.
cattle supply, while also protecting our industry's access to
important export markets, which can quickly be compromised in the
event of an animal health issue." (michael.dabaie@wsj.com)
Old Country Buffet Parent Preps Speedy Bankruptcy-Sale
Process
The owners of Old Country Buffet, Hometown Buffet and several
other all-you-can eat restaurant chains are planning a quick
bankruptcy sale for their assets and some of their leases, with
hopes to sell them off by the summer.
San Antonio-based Fresh Acquisitions LLC and Buffets LLC along
with several affiliates filed for chapter 11 protection Tuesday,
marking the fourth trip through bankruptcy since 2008 for some of
the sister chains. Together, the companies owe about $13.5 million
in secured debt and more than $5.3 million in unsecured
liabilities, according to court papers.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Danone's Portfolio Maintains Some Uncertainies Going Forward --
Market Talk
0848 GMT - Danone's portfolio still presents some areas of
concern that may impact its ability to relaunch growth sustainably,
UBS says. Analysts at the bank point to the French food company's
essential dairy and plant-based sales growth prospects in North
America, the effect of lower birth rates in Western Europe on its
early life nutrition business, and the pace of recovery for its
waters division. "This relatively high degree of operational
opacity is further exacerbated by the fact that the company will
soon be appointing a new, externally recruited, CEO who is likely
to open a new phase of transition for the group," UBS says.
(giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
Carrefour 1Q Sales Rose; To Launch Buyback of Up to EUR500
Mln
Carrefour SA said Wednesday that sales in its first quarter rose
and that it is launching a share buyback.
The French grocer said group revenue came to 18.58 billion euros
($22.37 billion) post-IAS 29, or EUR18.56 billion before, up 4.2%
on a like-for-like basis. Like-for-like sales grew 3.5% in France
and 16% in Latin America, but fell in Europe and Asia.
FUTURES MARKETS
Livestock Futures Finish Lower -- Market Talk
1529 ET - Livestock futures finished lower on the CME, with the
most-active live cattle contract ending down 1.6% to $1.1725 per
pound and the lean hog contract down 1.7% to $1.04525 per pound.
For cattle, today's down day makes it 9 out of the past 10 trading
sessions that futures have fallen -- shedding 6.6% in that time
period. Today's trading was largely predicated on Friday's Cattle
on Feed report, which is expected to show high cattle placements.
"Ahead of the report, the average trade estimate calls for a March
placement rate at 134% of last year, a marketing rate of 101%, and
an April 1 feedlot inventory of 106%," says AgResource. "If
confirmed, the placement total will be the largest in 5 years."
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Apr 21
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Apr 21 +$ 0.52 +$ 99.81
Apr 20 +$ 6.17 +$102.73
Apr 19 +$ 7.80 +$100.48
* 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 112.9
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 114.2
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday rose $2.20 per
hundred pounds, to $280.46, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose $1.41 per hundred pounds, to $271.88. The total load
count was 114. Wholesale pork prices fell $1.36, to $112.16 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 21, 2021 17:37 ET (21:37 GMT)
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