JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, reported net losses of €110m for the fourth quarter of its 2017 financial year. The company made profits of €162m for the same period last year.
JBS attributed the financial loss to a negative shift in currency rates. Over the last 12 months, the value of the Brazilian real has weakened 7% against the US dollar, which has driven up the cost of servicing debt for the Brazilian company.
Overall, JBS reported net profits of €131m for its full 2017 financial year, which was more than double the profits recorded in 2016. Sales for the year declined 4% to just under €40bn, which JBS attributed to currency headwinds and the sale of certain assets during the year.
The meat processor reported a threefold increase in full year operating profits to €282m. Profit margins, however, remain very tight at just 0.7%.
JBS ended the year with net debts of just over €11bn – down from €11.5bn at the start of the year. The Brazilian company completed an asset divestment programme over the last six months, which saw the company sell off a number of non-core assets, including its Five Rivers feedlot business in the US and Northern Ireland poultry processor Moy Park.
JBS raised more than €1.8bn from the sales of five separate non-core businesses, which has helped reduce the company’s debt leverage from 4.2 times at the start of the year to 3.4 times today.