LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
07 May 2021 - 8:02AM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Chicken Shortage Sends Prices Soaring, and Restaurants Can't
Keep Up
Chicken wings are flying off the shelves.
After a year promoting takeout wings and crispy chicken
sandwiches, restaurants including KFC, Wingstop Inc. and Buffalo
Wild Wings Inc. say they are paying steep prices for scarce
poultry. Some are running out of or limiting sales of tenders,
filets and wings, cutting into some of their most reliable
sales.
Independent eateries and bars have gone weeks without wings,
owners say. Chicken breast prices have more than doubled since the
beginning of the year, and wing prices have hit records, according
to market-research firm Urner Barry.
Pandemic Continues to Weigh on Beyond Meat -- Market Talk
1623 ET - Beyond Meat reports a larger-than-expected quarterly
loss as the faux meat maker says the pandemic continues to take a
toll on its restaurant clientele. The California-based Beyond
Burger parent reports a $27.3M loss for the quarter ended April 3,
versus a $1.8M profit for the same quarter a year earlier, as sales
rise 11% to $108.2M. Analysts surveyed by FactSet anticipated a
smaller loss and a slightly bigger increase in sales. Beyond Meat
says its revenues reflect the company's efforts to lower prices and
promote its beef and pork alternatives. Beyond Meat shares fall
5.9% after closing 2.1% lower. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com;
@jacobbunge)
Zambeef Shares Rise as It Expects FY 2021 Profit to Beat
Views
Shares in Zambeef Products PLC rose Thursday after the company
said it expects profit for fiscal 2021 to be ahead of market
forecasts.
The Zambia-based cold-chain food producer, which has a listing
in London, said it anticipates adjusted pretax profit, earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and earnings
before interest and taxes to be 20% to 30% ahead of market
consensus for the year ending Sept. 30.
STORIES OF INTEREST
USDA Helps Launch 10-Year Effort to Conserve US Land and Water
-- Market Talk
1119 ET - USDA Secretary Vilsack and other government officials
unveil a report kicking off a decade-long effort to conserve and
restore 30% of US lands and waters by 2030, called the country's
first ever national conservation goal. The initiative comes in
response to an executive order from the Biden administration
directing federal agencies to collaborate to fight climate change,
and will lean on "locally led and voluntary" efforts, according to
officials. Vilsack said the campaign seeks to boost, incentivize
and reward voluntary conservation efforts by US farmers and
ranchers, who are bearing the brunt of climate change.
(jesse.newman@wsj.com; @jessenewman13)
Beyond Meat Reinstates Guidance as Restaurants Reopen -- Market
Talk
16:37 ET - Beyond Meat was among many companies that stopped
trying to predict sales and other performance in 2020 as Covid-19
upended the American economy, closing restaurants that were core to
the plant-based meat producer's growth. A year later, as pandemic
restrictions ease, Beyond says it's going to try again, at least
for the current quarter. As Beyond reports 1Q numbers, the company
says its 2Q sales are likely to range between $135M to $150M, up
19% to 32% versus the year-ago period. That's generally in line
with analysts' average projections, with firms surveyed by FactSet
estimating sales rising 25% to $141.3M for the period. Beyond says
it's still too soon to give full-year projections. Shares fall 5.5%
after hours. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
FUTURES MARKETS
Livestock Futures Finish Higher -- Market Talk
1502 ET - Livestock futures on the CME closed higher -- with
live cattle futures up 0.7% to $1.156 per pound and lean hog
futures up 0.1% to $1.1475 per pound. For hogs, today started as a
correction, but eventually finished slightly above where it opened.
Longer-term, hog supplies appear supportive for higher futures.
"Hog supplies in the cash market remain extremely tight and this is
reflected in the prices paid in the open market," says Steiner
Consulting Group. Pork cutouts were higher midday, according to the
USDA -- with the carcass price up $2.72 per hundredweight to
$114.63 per cwt. Loin, ham and belly prices are all higher as of
midday. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - May 6
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations.
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
May 6 -$ 26.23 +$ 99.92
May 5 -$ 29.07 +$ 95.58
May 4 -$ 25.74 +$ 93.55
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production.
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of
production of the animals.
Beef-O-Meter
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices.
Beef
For Today Choice 71.4
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 70.5
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Thursday rose $1.59 per
hundred pounds, to $306.37, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose $3.18 per hundred pounds, to $289.36. The total load
count was 100. Wholesale pork prices rose/fell $2.02, to $112.21 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 06, 2021 17:47 ET (21:47 GMT)
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