Current Cattle Market Daily Headlines from March 10, 2021

americancattlemarkets

5 years ago

Brazil’s Marfrig posts record-high profit in 2020

On Monday, Brazil’s Marfrig Global Foods SA, the world’s largest hamburger producer, reported a record net profit of $575.6 million in 2020.
- The company attributes such revenue growth to its operations in North and South America.
The meat giant posted $11.8 billion in net revenue for 2020, up 35.3 percent from the year before.
Marfrig’s operations in North America accounted for 72 percent of the company’s total revenue.
- North American operations recorded a 6.5 percent expansion, which resulted in $9.4 billion in annual revenue.
Marfrig’s South American operations achieved record exports in 2020 with a 25.4 percent increase in revenue, which equated to $3.24 billion.
Additionally, Marfrig reported that its board of directors has proposed the distribution of $24.6 million in dividends to its shareholders.

Last week, market hogs found twice the profit margin of fed steers thanks to a rally that added almost $22/cwt. to lean hog carcass prices over the last month. Unfortunately, cash cattle prices have been stuck in neutral.
Profit margins for cattle sold last week averaged $25/hd., up from the previous week’s $13/hd. profits, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.
Cash cattle prices for last week averaged $113.51/cwt., steady to $0.50 lower than the previous week.
Packer margins declined $51/hd. to an average of $372/hd.
- These profits resulted in the packer/feeder margin spread of $346/hd., down $62 from the previous week’s $408.
Packer margins declined due to a $6/cwt. decline in the beef cutout to $233.28/cwt.
- Last year for the same week, the beef cutout was $205.48/cwt.

According to January data from USDA, compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), beef exports were down 2 percent and pork exports were down 9 percent compared to year-ago levels.
- Beef exports totaled 105,047 metric tons in January, while the value slipped 3 percent to $642.8 million.
- January pork exports totaled 248,656 metric tons, which resulted in the value decreasing 13 percent to $642.8 million.
USMEF reported that the decline in beef exports was mostly due to lower beef variety shipments.
USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom said that 2021 is off to a good start when it comes to exports, but there are still COVID-related obstacles and significant transportation and labor challenges.