Cherkizovo continues to increase poultry profitability

Sales volumes in the poultry division of Russian meat producer, Cherkizovo, increased by a robust 26% to approximately 185,620 tonnes of sellable weight compared for the first nine months of 2011 to 146,830 tonnes for the first nine months of 2010, reflecting organic volumes added in the Bryansk cluster and sales by Mosselprom, acquired in May 2011.

The average selling price in the poultry division increased by 8% in dollar terms from US $2.33 per kg for the first nine months of 2010 to $2.52 per kg in the first nine months of 2011 (excluding VAT). The price in the third quarter of 2011 remained almost at the level of prices of the second quarter, amounting to $2.53 per kg. Group revenue for this period totally has been estimated at $1.14 billion, up 29% compare with the same period of 2010.

Commenting on the performance, Sergey Mikhailov, CEO of Cherkizovo Group said «In the first nine months we have delivered strong results across all segments in line with our targets. «In poultry we have continued our organic growth, and in addition to opening two large poultry production facilities in our Bryansk and Penza clusters, we have launched two incubation facilities which are amongst the largest not just in Russia, but across Europe. Our results in the pork segment demonstrate that we have successfully overcome the consequences of last year’s weather conditions, and are now witnessing production growth.

«In the meat processing segment we see a steady increase in demand for our meat products, while this year we are concentrating on improving the product mix in favour of value added products. In terms of the pricing environment, we see that in poultry the prices so far this year have been relatively flat, while in pork they have demonstrated some growth. Overall, management expects that the Group will produce a strong financial performance for the nine months and will further continue to deliver against its strategy.»