What: Shares of meat producer Tyson Foods (TSN 0.74%) are up over 10% at 12:45 p.m. ET on Feb. 5 following the company's release of its first-quarter financial results.
So what: While quarterly revenue fell from $10.8 billion in 2015 to $9.2 billion in the first quarter, operating income was up 38% and net income surged 55%. Management attributed the strong profit growth to its efforts to "invest in and grow or Core 9 product lines," saying that the efforts were paying off.
The company also generated $1.1 billion in cash flows and used $300 million of that to repurchase its stock. The board of directors also expanded the repurchase authorization, increasing it by 50 million more shares.
Now what: Tyson management also increased its guidance for earnings for the full year, and is now projecting earnings in a range between $3.85-$3.95 per share for the full year.
At the same time, it also cautioned that expanding supply could weaken prices this year. It expects demand for its core products to grow between 2% and 3% this year, but supply growth could outpace that demand. However, some of that pricing pressure could be dampened by its prepared foods segment, which predicts $250 million in raw material costs this year.
At the same time, the company expects to keep driving down its costs, and is counting on $200 million in synergies as it continues to integrate last year's Hillshire Farms acquisition into other operations. In other words, the earnings guidance isn't just a factor of market demand and supply, but also Tyson's ongoing efforts to reduce its operating expenses and other costs.
