Tyson Foods – moving away from protein
Executives of the company told investors from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), luxury goods and food retail sectors that the company was in a “unique position” at the Consumer Analyst Group of Europe conference in London on Tuesday 22 March.
“We’re in categories growing at a rate higher than the total food and beverage category, our product mix is driving margin expansion, we’re building brand advocates, and we’re investing in growth,” said Donnie Smith, president and CEO of Tyson Foods at the conference.
‘A lot of cash’
“We’re changing with the consumer and that has led to the incredible innovation momentum we’re generating. We’ve been able to consistently increase our new product vitality and deliver innovation numbers that put us among the top branded food companies – and we’re just getting started.”
US-based Tyson Foods claims to be one of the largest meat companies in the world, supplying beef, pork, poultry and prepared food retail and foodservice customers across 130 countries. Also speaking at the three-day conference in London, which concludes today, was Tyson Foods CFO Dennis Leatherby, who boasted that the company makes “a lot of cash”.
“With our current fiscal 2016 earnings guidance, which we raised during our last earnings call, due to very strong first quarter results, the four-year projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is over 18%, easily surpassing our goal to deliver at least 10% annual earnings per share growth over time,” said Leatherby.
“We are capable of making multiple strategic moves,” he said. “We generate a lot of cash, and we have plenty of liquidity and debt capacity to take advantage of the right opportunities when they come along.”
