Pilgrim's net income, net sales jump in third quarter

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  Pilgrim's CEO Bill Lovette says disciplined management and strong chicken markets helped the company in the third quarter.

  From WATTAgNet:
  Pilgrim's achieved a net income of $256 million during the third quarter of fiscal year 2014, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $0.99. The financial reports for the quarter showed a substantial improvement from the company’s net income of $160.9 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.62 recorded during the third quarter of the previous year.
  The poultry company also saw its net sales jump to $2.3 billion for the quarter, up from the $2.1 billion in net sales for the third quarter of fiscal year 2013.
  "Our third quarter results reflect the discipline that Pilgrim's has demonstrated in managing the variables within our control as well as the strength we've seen in the chicken markets," stated Bill Lovette, CEO of Pilgrim's. "Our focus has been, and continues to be, the consistent execution of our strategy to be a valued partner to our key customers, relentless pursuit of operational excellence and value-added export growth. We are optimistic that we will continue to be one of the more profitable operators with our management philosophy conducive to continually operating at the top of our industry, even with varying levels of strength in chicken markets."
  "We are pleased about the level of engagement from our team members as we move into 2015. Through our budgeting process for next year we have identified new targeted capital investments and additional operational improvement opportunities that will continue our trajectory towards our vision of being the best managed and most respected company in the industry."