WH Group Sees Profits

GLOBAL - The WH Group, the controlling group for Smithfield Foods and Shuanghui has seen profits rise by 88.6 per cent to $956 million over the last financial year.
calendar icon 10 April 2015
clock icon 3 minute read

Total turnover rose by 97.7 per cent to $22.24 billion and operating profit rose by 82.2 per cent to $1.61 billion.

Packaged meats operating profit went up by 57.3 per cent to $1.19 billion. Fresh pork operating profit rose by five per cent to $211 million and the hog production business bounced back with operating profit of $412 million.

WH Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wan Long said: “The year 2014 was a fruitful one for the Company.

“Last year, WH Group successfully listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, launching a new era of the Company’s development.

“In 2014, the Company recorded stellar performance in each of its business segments, with business in China and the United States reaching record highs, demonstrating the synergies between the two markets.

“Despite various challenges emerged in our operating markets, the Company maintained its growth momentum while facing volatile commodity prices, and recorded solid results.”

Profitability in the US and Chinese markets saw a significant boost.

In 2014, the company strengthened its global sales and distribution network, which further increased revenue.

In China, supported by more than 5,500 committed distributors, the company’s sales network for packaged meat products reached approximately 689,000 points of sale covering all 31 provinces at the end of 2014, an increase of 38,000 points of sale over the previous year.

The company’s sales network for fresh pork products reached approximately 37,000 points of sale covering 29 provinces as at the end of 2014.

In the United States, the company maintained strong relationships with the majority of the top 75 food retailers and with each of the top 10 food retailers.

Mr. Wan said: “Looking ahead, our operations teams in China and the United States will leverage our strong performance and uphold a shared vision of global expansion, to focus on the integration of global resources, development strategies of brand consolidation, exercise stringent control over food safety and product quality, meet increasingly sophisticated and personalized demands from consumers.

“While seizing opportunities in changing market trends, we will continue to grow our business scale, enhance profitability, and improve operation efficiency and management standards, to reinforce our leading position in branded consumer products.”

Mr. Wan concluded: “During the past year, the full-scale integration of WH Group’s China operations and Smithfield progressed smoothly, with synergies between operations in China and the United States gradually emerging.

“Going forward, we will continue to sustain and consolidate our industry-leading position as the world’s largest pork company under the guidance of our corporate development strategy, to deploy resources worldwide to drive our global expansion and provide more quality meat products for consumers around the world.”

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