Marfrig Alimentos S.A., a global food company, has reported its results for the full-year 2010 ending 31 December 2010, establishing the foundation for robust profits in the medium and long term.

Market share gains in Brazil that accelerated in the fourth quarter, synergies from the SEARA acquisition and distribution, new-found opportunities with Keystone, and the capacity to pass higher costs on to consumers through its distribution channels helped the company to offset higher grain and cattle prices, a 2009 Real (BRR) currency gain and challenging environments in Argentina and Uruguay.

FY10 highlights

Consolidated gross revenues grew by 14.2 per cent to BRR20.6 billion for FY2010 on a pro forma basis from FY2009 pro forma* revenues of BRR18.1 billion, following strong rapid gains in the Brazilian beef segment and larger sales in both domestic and export markets in SEARA. *pro forma: Considering Seara and Keystone FY 2009 and 2010

Consolidated FY2010 net revenues reached BRR15.9 billion, up to 65.0 per cent from BRR9.6 billion in FY2009.

In a pro forma basis, consolidated EBITDA reached BRR1.7 billion, 127.4 per cent upon BRR765.4 million in FY2009; EBITDA margin rose to 8.9 per cent in FY2010 from 4.5 per cent in FY2009.

Consolidated EBITDA of BRR1.5 billion reached in FY2010, up to 107.2 per cent from BRR725 million in FY2009; EBITDA margin continued to improve, rising to 9.5 per cent in FY2010 from 7.5 per cent in FY2009.

Record segment results with Brazilian beef production increased 69.2 per cent to 2.65 million head of cattle from 1.57 million. Chicken in Brazil and Europe increased 96.5 per cent to 838.5 million birds from 426.7 million, while total pork jumped 164.4 per cent to 2.6 million from 992,700 and turkey rose a strong 181.0 per cent to 5.99 million from 2.13 million.

Marfrig became the second-largest chicken and pork exporter in Brazil, according to SECEX (Foreign Trade Secretariat of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade). In Brazil, Marfrig became the second biggest provider of processed and specialty pork and poultry-derived products.

Consolidated FY2010 net income reached BRR146.1 million or BRR0.42 per share, down by 72.7 per cent compared to FY2009. On a pro-forma basis, net profit achieved BRR259.1 million in FY2010, 44 per cent growth from consolidated pro forma net income of BRR179.9 million in FY2009.

Chairman and CEO of Marfrig Group, Marcos Antonio Molina dos Santos, commented: "The acquisition of Keystone and SEARA have made Marfrig one of the world's biggest global food processors with operations in 22 countries and five continents, providing meats, poultry and leather to millions of consumers every year.

"In 2010, we worked hard to strengthen our global platform, grow revenues and build customer value despite challenging commodity prices and difficult global macro-economic conditions.

"Our goal in 2011 is to continue to deliver operational results while capitalising on significant growth opportunities that exist across the Marfrig supply chain. This includes launching new SEARA products in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Europe, whilst finding cost savings opportunities, improving our debt profile and creating value to our shareholders in 2011," he said.