Tyson, the world’s second largest meat processor, returned a drop in its operating income for the final quarter of the 2022 financial year to $766m (€736m), or 5.6% compared with a massive $1.9bn (€1.82bn), or 14.9%, in the final quarter of 2021. The final quarter results of 2021 were exceptional and so the 2022 performance is a return to a more normal level.

Overall performance for the 2022 year ending 1 October was a $4.410bn (€4.240bn) operating margin compared with $4.396bn (€4.226bn) the previous year.

The operating margin in the beef business fell from $3.2bn (€3.1bn), or 18%, to $2.5bn (€2.4bn) or 12.6%, while pork margin also dropped from $328m (€315m) to 193m (€185m).

The prepared foods division also recorded a sharp fall in operating margin from $1.456bn (€1.4bn) in the 2021 financial year to $746m (€713m) in 2022. However, there was a positive turnaround on poultry, which returned a $955m (€918m) profit in 2022 compared with a $625m (€601m) loss last year.

The poultry business had been disrupted by a factory fire the previous year and had a $626m (€601m) loss from the recognition of a legal contingency accrual.

Tyson said that for beef sales, volumes were flat, but despite increased revenues, higher costs had a particular impact in reducing margins from the previous record.

It mentioned the higher cattle costs, which are currently the equivalent of €5.20/kg in the US for a beef carcase which has a higher kill out percentage than in Ireland. Sales prices fell in the final quarter due to consumer switching to cheaper cuts of beef because of wider consumer price inflation in the US.