Tyson Foods Inc. reported third quarter 2011 earnings per share was $0.51, as compared to $0.65 last year.
This included a $21 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, reduction to income tax expense related to a reversal of reserves for foreign uncertain tax positions.
The company reported record sales of $8.2 billion in the third quarter, up 10.9 percent compared to last year.
Overall operating margin was 3.8 percent.
"We are pleased that our overall performance in the fiscal third quarter was about what we expected it to be," said Donnie Smith, president and chief executive officer of Tyson Foods in a prepared statement. "The pork segment's returns were above the new normalized range; the beef segment was near the upper end of its range; and our prepared foods segment was just under its range.
"We feel good about our performance in the chicken segment while experiencing extremely volatile input costs and market prices at or near historical lows. The fact that we remained profitable in such a difficult environment demonstrates how much our chicken business has improved in the past three years. There appears to be improvement in market fundamentals on the horizon, but the next few months will be very challenging, and it is likely our chicken segment will experience a loss in the fiscal fourth quarter.
"My outlook for Tyson Foods remains positive. Our diversified business model, including our outstanding beef and pork segments, along with our strong balance sheet, will allow us to continue serving our customers through insights and innovations as we help them succeed in this economic environment, reinvesting in our business and buying back stock."
