São Paulo – In 2015, the Brazilian food company BRF posted revenues of BRL 32.1 billion (USD 8.1 billion at current exchange rate), up 11% from 2014, and a net income of BRL 3.1 billion (USD 783.7 million), up 46%. In a statement released on Thursday evening (25), the company ascribed the results to expansion of its global operations, increased points of sale in Brazil and improved customer services. BRL said Brazil and the Middle East were its biggest markets, with 50% of revenue coming from domestic operations and 22% originating in the Middle East.
According to the statement, Middle East sales surpassed expectations. In its results, BRF announces that plans have been moved ahead for its plant in Abu Dhabi, which opened in 2014 and has since staged several “success stories.”
“Given that operation’s success, we have decided to expand it earlier than previously forecasted, in 2020, by increasing annual output from 70,000 to 100,000 tons. The additional capacity is intended to cater to both the heightened demand at current buying markets and potential demand from new ones. We will increase the amount of product lines at the plant, so as to meet each market’s demands in swift, customized fashion. This is also a way of making the UAE into a major exportation hub,” the company’s annual report reads. BRF also reported that the unit’s expansion is also designed to serve potential new clients in North and Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia.
In its report, BRL also says that in 2015, it acquired the frozen foodstuffs distribution operations of Qatar National Import and Export. “That way, we now control distribution across nearly the entire Gulf, thus strengthening our position in the region even further, and implementing efficient processes by having a local service center,” according to the report.
BRF reported BRL 7.097 billion (USD 1.794 billion as of Feb 26, 2016) from Middle East and Africa operations, with sales amounting to 1.080 million tons. It grossed BRL 3.640 (USD 920.2 million) in Europe, BRL 3.290 billion (USD 831.7 million) in Asia and BRL 2.132 billion (USD 539 million) in Latin America. In Brazil, it posted BRL 16 billion (USD 4 billion) in revenues.
Despite its performance in 2015, BRF shares were down 7.05% in the São Paulo Stock Exchange this Friday. At 11:55 am, shares were selling for BRL 50.33 (USD 12.72 at the current exchange rate).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
