By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- Tyson Foods' (NYSE:TSN) profit slumped by two-thirds in the three months through December, as the U.S.'s largest meat processor struggled with cost squeezes and "operational inefficiencies".
Tyson said underlying earnings per share fell 70% from a year earlier to 85c, as a 12% rise in operating costs took a huge bite out of its margins. Profitability fell across all three of its main product categories - beef, chicken and pork, with the last of the three swinging to an operating loss in the period, the first quarter of its fiscal year.
“We faced some challenges in the first quarter," Tyson Foods President and CEO Donnie King said in a statement. "Market dynamics and some operational inefficiencies impacted our profitability."
He added that the company expects performance to improve in the second half of fiscal 2023, but said its operating margin for beef and chicken will only be around 3% this year, while its margin on pork will only be around 1%.