Tyson sales beat estimates as volumes increase for beef, chicken

Tyson Foods Inc., the largest U.S. meat processor, posted higher-than-expected quarterly revenue after a gain in prices and sales volumes for beef and chicken.

Fiscal fourth-quarter sales rose 7 percent to $8.89 billion, Tyson said today in a statement, beating the $8.87 billion average of 12 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Net income climbed to $261 million, or 70 cents a share, in the three months through Sept. 28, from $185 million, or 51 cents, a year earlier. That matched the 70-cent-a-share average estimate.

For the 2014 fiscal year, Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson said domestic protein production will rise by about 1 percent and sales will be about $36 billion, compared with the $35.6 billion average of 12 analysts’ estimates. Profitability at the company’s beef unit, its largest by revenue, may be less that the “normalized” range of 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent, Tyson said.

Tyson increased 3.9 percent to $29.90 at 8 a.m. before the start of regular trading in New York.