Tyson Profit Falls 48%, But Beats Street

Shares of Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) shot up 5.5% Friday after the meats and prepared foods distributor served up a 10% increase in first-quarter sales and profits that topped Wall Street expectations.

The Springdale, Ariz.-based company saw its profit drop 47% to $156 million, or 42 cents, compared with a year-earlier $294 million, or 78 cents, on higher costs for feed ingredients.

But analysts in a Thomson Reuters poll expected a smaller 33-cent profit, and revenue for the three-month period was up about 10% to $8.33 billion, which matched the Street’s view.

Higher prices across all of its products helped sales grow year-over-year despite a drop in volume. The stronger chicken, beef, pork and prepared foods sales more than offset an increase in commodity costs.

Looking toward the remainder of the year, Tyson predicts overall domestic protein production will decline, with chicken down 4% and the others down 1% to 2%.

However, the food manufacturer plans to continue increasing prices as an offset and forecasts growth in exports.