São Paulo – The Brazilian meat company Minerva saw an increase in revenues, net income and exports in Q1 this year from the same period last year. According to the balance sheet released this Thursday (8th), Minerva posted R$ 1.4 billion (US$ 627 million at current exchange rates) in net income in Q1, up 17% from Q1 2013.<\/p>\n
Exports by the company’s meat division were up 19.4% and accounted for roughly 70% of gross revenues. The Middle East’s share in total sales was 20%. In Q1 last year, the share was 17.3%. The share of sales to Africa went from 15.6% to 16.2%.<\/p>\n
In a press statement, CEO Fernando Galetti de Queiroz said the company strived to increase its “sales mix” by increasing exports.<\/p>\n
As per the statement, the company posted a net income of R$ 69.1 million (US$ 30.9 million) in Q1 this year, and saw an increase in revenues despite the adverse conditions, namely from scarce rainfall in Brazil. In January, the company slaughtered 4.5% more heads of cattle than in January 2013, but slaughter figures declined in February and March. In Q1 this year, 444,000 heads of cattle were slaughtered. In Q1 2013, the total figure was 457,000.<\/p>\n
In Brazil, the price of 15 kg of beef was up 8% from Q4 2013. According to Minerva, this was due to reduced market availability of beef. In Q1, cattle growers held back their animals, causing the rate of slaughter to slow down. The company’s use of installed capacity dropped from 74.2% in Q1 2013 to 70.2% in Q1 2014. <\/p>\n
The leading importing region was the Commonwealth of Independent States, which accounted for a combined 21.3% of exports, The Americas imported 17.5%, Asia imported 12.1% and the European Union was the target of 10.5% of total exports by Minerva. The Middle East and Africa were respectively the second and fourth leading importing regions. <\/p>\n
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/strong><\/p>\n