Source: https://q10k.com/PPC
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 22:10:56+00:00

Document:
The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Common Stock, $0.01 par value, held by non-affiliates of the Registrant as of July 1, 2018 was $1,061,819,405. For purposes of the foregoing calculation only, all directors, executive officers and greater than 10% beneficial owners have been deemed affiliates. Number of shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of February 13, 2019 was 248,965,081.
Portions of the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this annual report.
Certain written and oral statements made by our Company and subsidiaries of our Company may constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This includes statements made herein, in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in press releases, and in certain other oral and written presentations.
Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (referred to herein as “Pilgrim’s,” “PPC,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or similar terms), which was incorporated in Texas in 1968 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1986, is the successor to a partnership founded in 1946 as a retail feed store. JBS S.A., through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries (together, “JBS”), beneficially owns 78.5% of our outstanding common stock. We are one of the largest chicken producers in the world with operations in the United States (“U.S.”), the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), Mexico, France, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands. We are primarily engaged in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products to retailers, distributors and foodservice operators. We offer a wide range of products to our customers through strong national and international distribution channels. Pilgrim's fresh chicken products consist of refrigerated (non-frozen) whole chickens, whole cut-up chickens and selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated. The Company's prepared chicken products include fully cooked, ready-to-cook and individually frozen chicken parts, strips, nuggets and patties, some of which are either breaded or non-breaded and either marinated or non-marinated, ready-to-eat meals, multi-protein frozen foods, vegetarian foods and desserts.
We market our balanced portfolio of fresh, prepared and value-added chicken products to a diverse set of over 6,000 customers across the U.S., the U.K., Mexico and in approximately 100 other countries, with no single customer accounting for more than ten percent of total sales. We have become a valuable partner to our customers and a recognized industry leader by consistently providing high-quality products and services designed to meet their needs and enhance their business. Our sales efforts are largely targeted towards the foodservice industry, principally chain restaurants and food processors, such as Chick-fil-A® and retail customers, including grocery store chains and wholesale clubs, such as Kroger®, Costco®, Publix®, and H-E-B®.
As a vertically integrated company, we control every phase of the production process, which helps us better manage food safety and quality, as well as more effectively control margins and improve customer service. As of December 30, 2018, we operate feed mills, hatcheries, processing plants and distribution centers in 14 U.S. states, the U.K., France, the Netherlands, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Our plants are strategically located to ensure that customers timely receive fresh products. With our global network of approximately 5,300 growers, 38 feed mills, 49 hatcheries, 36 processing plants, 16 prepared foods cook plants, 22 distribution centers, nine rendering facilities and four pet food plants, we believe we are well-positioned to supply the growing demand for our products.
for over 50 years and delivers a range of fresh, ready-to-cook, coated and ready-to-eat poultry products to major retailers and large foodservice customers throughout the U.K., Ireland, France and the Netherlands. We believe that we operate one of the most efficient business models for chicken production in the U.K. and Europe.
We are one of the largest, and we believe one of the most efficient, producers and sellers of chicken in Mexico. Our presence in Mexico provides access to a market with growing demand and has enabled us to leverage our operational strengths within the region. The market for chicken products in Mexico is still developing, with most sales attributed to fresh, commodity-oriented, market price-based business. Additionally, we are an important player in the live market in Mexico. We believe our Mexico business is well-positioned to continue benefiting from these trends in the Mexican consumer market.
As of December 30, 2018, we have approximately 52,100 employees and have the capacity to process more than 45.3 million birds per week for a total of approximately 13.4 billion pounds of live chicken annually. In 2018, we produced 10.7 billion pounds of chicken products, generating approximately $10.9 million in net sales and approximately $246.8 million in net income attributable to Pilgrim’s.
On January 6, 2017, we acquired 100% of the membership interests of JFC LLC and its subsidiaries (together, “GNP”) from Maschhoff Family Foods, LLC for a cash purchase price of $350 million, subject to customary working capital adjustments. GNP is a vertically integrated poultry business based in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The acquired business had a production capacity of 2.1 million birds per five-day work week in its two plants and employed approximately 1,600 people at the time of acquisition. The plants are located in geographic areas where Pilgrim’s did not have a presence, providing Pilgrim’s the opportunity to expand its production and customer bases. We plan to continue to leverage GNP’s operations to enhance production efficiencies. Also, the addition of GNP’s Just Bare® product lines join our existing no-antibiotics-ever and organic production capabilities, strengthening our footprint in fast-growing and higher-margin chicken segments. This acquisition further strengthened the Company’s strategic position in the U.S. chicken market. The GNP operations are included in our U.S. segment.
On September 8, 2017, we acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Moy Park from JBS S.A. for a cash purchase price of $301.3 million and a note payable to the seller in the amount of £562.5 million. Moy Park is one of the top-ten food companies in the U.K., Northern Ireland's largest private sector business and one of Europe's leading poultry producers. With four fresh processing plants, ten prepared foods cook plants, three feed mills, seven hatcheries and one rendering facility in the U.K., France, and the Netherlands, the acquired business processes 6.0 million birds per seven-day work week, in addition to producing around 456.0 million pounds of prepared foods per year. Moy Park had approximately 10,200 employees at the time of acquisition. This acquisition further strengthened the Company’s strategic position in the U.K. and Europe chicken market. The Moy Park operations constitutes our U.K. and Europe segment.
We operate on the basis of a 52/53-week fiscal year that ends on the Sunday falling on or before December 31. Any reference we make to a particular year (for example, 2018) applies to our fiscal year and not the calendar year. Fiscal 2018 was a 52-week fiscal year.
The U.S. consumes more chicken than any other protein (approximately 35.9 billion pounds projected in calendar year 2019 according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”)), and chicken is the second most consumed protein globally after pork. The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of chicken and is projected to produce approximately 42.8 billion pounds of ready-to-cook broiler meat in calendar year 2019, representing 20.2% of the total world production. Broilers are tender, young chickens suitable for broiling or roasting. Brazil and the European Union produce the second and third most chicken meat, with 14.1% and 12.8% of the world market, respectively, according to the USDA. Total chicken produced within the geographical regions in which the Company operates accounted for 36.6% of total world chicken production.
According to the USDA, the export of U.S. chicken products increased at an average annual growth rate of 0.1% from 2008 through 2018. The U.S. is the second-largest exporter of broiler meat behind Brazil. The U.S. is projected to export 7.1 billion pounds in calendar year 2019, which would account for 28.0% of the total world exports and 16.5% of the total U.S. production, according to the USDA. The top five exporters are projected to control over 85.2% of the market in 2019. Total exports within the geographical regions in which the Company operates accounted for 40.9% of total world chicken exports.
2027 show an anticipated increase of global chicken production at a compounded annual growth rate of 0.8%. We believe our relationship with JBS positions us to capture a portion of those emerging markets.
Feed. Broilers are fed corn, soybean meal and wheat as well as certain vitamins and minerals. Corn, soybean meal and wheat accounted for approximately 46.2%, 42.5% and 5.6% of our feed costs, respectively, in 2018. Broiler production is significantly more efficient from a feed perspective than cattle or hog production. Approximately two pounds of feed are required for each pound of chicken, as compared to approximately seven and 3.5 pounds for cattle and hogs, respectively. We have sought to mitigate the impact of feed price volatility on our profitability by decreasing the amount of our products that are sold under longer term fixed price contracts, broadening our product portfolio and expanding the variety of contracts within our book of business.
Leading market position in the growing chicken industry. We are one of the largest chicken producers globally and a leading chicken producer in the U.S. with an approximate 17.2% market share, based on ready-to-cook production in 2018, according to WATTPoultryUSA magazine. We believe we can maintain this prominent market position as we are one of the few producers in the chicken industry that can fully satisfy the requirements of large retailers and foodservice companies due to our broad product range, national distribution, vertically integrated operations and technical capabilities. Further, our scale of operations, balanced product portfolio and a wide range of production capabilities enable us to meet both the capacity and quality requirements of our customer base. Finally, we believe we are well-positioned with our global footprint to benefit from the growth in the U.S. chicken export market.
Broad product portfolio. We have a diversified product portfolio ranging from large to small birds and from fresh to cooked to processed chicken. In addition, our prepared foods business is focused on our most profitable product lines. We believe we are well-positioned to be the primary chicken supplier for large customers due to our ability to provide consistent supply, innovate and develop new products to address consumer desires and provide competitive pricing across a diverse product portfolio. Our balanced portfolio of fresh, prepared and value-added chicken products yields a diversified sales mix, mitigating supply and market volatility and creating more consistent gross margins.
Blue chip and diverse customer base across all industry segments. We benefit from strong relationships with leading companies in every customer segment, including Chick-fil-A®, Kroger®, Costco®, Publix®, and H-E-B®, most of whom have been doing business with us for more than five years. We sell our products to a large and diverse customer base, with over 6,000 customers, with no single one accounting for more than 10% of total sales.
the seasoned management team of JBS, which has over 50 years of combined experience operating protein processing facilities in South America, North America, Australia and Europe.
We operate in three reportable business segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. As a producer and seller of chicken products we either produce or purchase chicken for resale in the U.S., the U.K and Europe, and Mexico. We conduct separate operations in the U.S., the U.K. and Europe, Puerto Rico and Mexico; however, for geographic reporting purposes, we include Puerto Rico with our U.S. operations. See “Note 22. Business Segment and Geographic Reporting” of our Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements included in this annual report for additional information.
Our primary product types are fresh chicken products, prepared chicken products and value-added export chicken products. We sell our fresh chicken products to the foodservice and retail markets. Our fresh chicken products consist of refrigerated (nonfrozen) whole or cut-up chicken, either pre-marinated or non-marinated and prepackaged case-ready chicken. Our case-ready chicken includes various combinations of freshly refrigerated, whole chickens and chicken parts in trays, bags or other consumer packs labeled and priced ready for the retail grocer’s fresh meat counter. Our fresh chicken sales accounted for 85.7%, 44.2%, and 94.2% of our total U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico chicken sales in 2018, respectively.
may be fully cooked, partially cooked or raw. In addition, these products are breaded or non-breaded and either pre-marinated or non-marinated. Our prepared chicken products sales accounted for 11.1%, 41.3%, and 5.8% of our total U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico chicken sales in 2018, respectively.
Export and other chicken products primarily consist of whole chickens and chicken parts sold either refrigerated for distributors in the U.S. or frozen for distribution to export markets. We sell U.S.-produced chicken products for export to Mexico, the Middle East, Asia and other world markets. In the U.S., prices of these products are negotiated daily or weekly and are generally related to market prices quoted by the USDA or other public price reporting services. Prices for export sales are determined by supply and demand and local market conditions. In certain newly accessed international markets, we have established premium brands, which allow us to market our products at a premium to commodity price levels within those regions. Our export and other chicken products sales accounted for 3.2% and 14.5% of our total U.S. and U.K. and Europe chicken sales in 2018, respectively.
Our retail market consists primarily of grocery store chains, wholesale clubs and other retail distributors. Our retail market products consist primarily of branded, prepackaged cut-up and whole chicken and chicken parts. We concentrate our efforts in this market on creating value for our customers through category management and supporting key customers in expanding their private label sales programs. Additionally, for many years, we have invested in both trade and retail marketing designed to establish high levels of brand name awareness and consumer preference. We utilize numerous advertising and marketing techniques to develop and strengthen trade and consumer awareness and increase brand loyalty for consumer products marketed under the Pilgrim’s®, Just BARE®, Gold’n Pump®, Gold Kist®, County Pride Chicken®, Pierce Chicken®, Pilgrim’s® Mexico, County Post®, Savoro, To-Ricos, Del Dia®, Moy Park, and O’Kane brands. We believe our efforts to achieve and maintain brand awareness and loyalty help to achieve greater price premiums than would otherwise be the case in certain markets and support and expand our product distribution. We actively seek to identify and address consumer preferences by using sophisticated qualitative and quantitative consumer research techniques in key geographic markets to discover and validate new product ideas, packaging designs and methods.
Our export and other chicken market consists primarily of customers who purchase for distribution in the U.S., U.K. and continental Europe, or for export to Mexico, the Middle East, Asia, and other world markets. Our value-added export and other chicken products, with the exception of our exported prepared chicken products, consist of whole chickens and chicken parts sold in bulk, or value-added form, either refrigerated or frozen. We believe that chicken exports within our geographical operations in the U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico will continue to grow as worldwide demand increases for high-quality, low-cost meat protein sources. We expect that worldwide demand for higher-margin prepared food products will increase over the next several years and believe our strategy of value-added export growth positions us to take advantage of this expected demand.
The following table sets forth, for the periods beginning with 2014, net sales attributable to each of our primary product lines and markets served with those products. We based the table on our internal sales reports and their classification of product types.
The following table sets forth, beginning with 2014, the percentage of net U.S. chicken sales attributable to each of our primary product lines and the markets serviced with those products. We based the table and related discussion on our internal sales reports and their classification of product types and customers.
Fresh Chicken Overview. Fresh chicken is an important component of our sales and accounted for $6.0 billion, or 85.2%, of our total U.S. chicken sales in 2018 and $4.7 billion, or 66.2%, in 2014. Most of our fresh chicken products are sold to established customers, based upon certain weekly or monthly market prices reported by the USDA and other public price reporting services, plus a markup, which is dependent upon the customer’s location, volume, product specifications and other factors. We believe our practices with respect to sales of fresh chicken are generally consistent with those of our competitors. The majority of these products are sold pursuant to agreements with varying terms that set a price according to formulas based on underlying chicken price markets, subject in many cases to minimum and maximum prices.
costs are the single largest component of our U.S. cost of sales, representing approximately 28.5% of our U.S. cost of sales in 2018. The production of feed ingredients is positively or negatively affected primarily by the global level of supply inventories, demand for feed ingredients, the agricultural policies of the U.S. and foreign governments and weather patterns throughout the world. As further processing is performed, feed ingredient costs become a decreasing percentage of a product’s total production cost, thereby reducing their impact on our profitability. Products sold in this form enable us to charge a premium, reduce the impact of feed ingredient costs on our profitability and improve and stabilize our profit margins.
Export and Other Chicken Overview. Our export and other chicken products consist of whole chickens and chicken parts sold primarily in bulk, nonbranded form, either refrigerated to distributors in the U.S. or frozen for distribution to export markets, and branded and nonbranded prepared chicken products for distribution to export markets. In 2018, approximately $258.7 million, or 3.7%, of our total U.S. chicken sales were attributable to U.S. chicken export and other chicken products, as compared to $620.1 million, or 8.7%, in 2014.
Presently, this category includes chicken by-products, which we convert into protein products and sell primarily to manufacturers of pet foods. In addition, many of our U.S. feed mills produce and sell some livestock feeds to local dairy farmers and livestock producers.
The following table sets forth, beginning with 2014, the percentage of net U.K. and Europe chicken sales attributable to each of our primary product lines and the markets serviced with those products. We based the table and related discussion on our internal sales reports and their classification of product types and customers.
On September 8, 2017, a subsidiary of the Company acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Moy Park from JBS S.A. in a common-control transaction for cash and a note payable to the seller. Moy Park is one of the top-ten food companies in the U.K., Northern Ireland's largest private sector business and one of Europe's leading poultry producers. With four fresh processing plants, ten prepared foods cook plants, three feed mills, seven hatcheries and one rendering facility in the U.K., France, and the Netherlands, Moy Park processes 6.0 million birds per seven-day work week, in addition to producing around 456.0 million pounds of prepared foods per year at the time of acquisition.
Our Moy Park operations, with plants in the U.K., France and the Netherlands generated approximately 19.6% of our net sales in 2018. We are one of the largest producers and sellers of chicken in the U.K.. We believe that we operate one of the most efficient business models for chicken production in the U.K. and Europe.
During 2016 and 2017, we invested approximately £20 million in a new poultry hatchery facility in Newark, England with an egg set capacity of 2.9 million eggs per week. The first birds were hatched from the facility in September 2017.
Moy Park has built strong brands with high levels of brand recognition in the markets in which such brands are sold, including “Moy Park” and “O’Kane”. Moy Park believes the development of its brands are important as it provides customers with confidence in the quality and consistency of its products. Brand marketing is focused on establishing its brands through consistent quality and product innovation as well as developing relationships with key customers. Moy Park believes that its brands can be expanded throughout Europe, which provides the opportunity to sell higher margin products in its traditional markets.
Moy Park maintains a development team and an executive chef to continue to develop new ideas for value added products across its range, and share those insights with its customers in order to drive sales. Moy Park has included new innovative products in its portfolio every year during the last five years with a growing new product development pipeline.
Fresh Chicken Overview. Moy Park’s fresh chicken sales primarily consist of refrigerated and frozen whole chickens, breast fillets and mini breast fillets. Fresh chicken sales accounted for $925.1 million, or 44.2%, of our total U.K. and Europe chicken sales in 2018, as compared to $240.8 million, or 43.8% in 2015.
Prepared Chicken Overview. Moy Park produces further processed and prepared chicken products for sale to customers in retail, foodservice, agricultural and international distribution channels. Moy Park also sells a range of ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat and coated chicken products to leading retailers and foodservice providers. Prepared chicken sales accounted for $865.9 million, or 41.3% of our total U.K. and Europe chicken sales in 2018, as compared to $241.6 million, or 43.9% in 2015.
Export and Other Chicken Overview. In 2018, approximately $303.9 million, or 14.5%, of our total U.K. and Europe chicken sales were attributable to U.K. and Europe chicken export and other chicken products, as compared to $67.9 million, or 12.3%, in 2015.
Customers for Moy Park’s fresh and further processed and prepared chicken products include: national and regional retailers (including grocery supermarket chains, independent grocers and club stores) and wholesale distributors; international retailers and wholesale distributors; and the foodservice industry, including foodservice distributors, fast food and other restaurants.
Our Mexico operations generated approximately 12.5% of our net sales in 2018. We are one of the largest producers and sellers of chicken in Mexico. We believe that we operate one of the more efficient business models for chicken production in Mexico.
While the market for chicken products in Mexico is less developed than in the U.S., with sales attributed to fewer, simpler products, we believe we have been successful in differentiating our products through high-quality client service and product improvements. Additionally, we are an important player in the live market in Mexico.
We sell our chicken products primarily to wholesalers, large restaurant chains, fast food accounts and supermarket chains, and also engage in direct retail distribution in selected markets. Our largest presence is by far in the central states of the country where we have been able to gain market share. Our presence in Mexico reaches approximately 75.4% of the population.
Our two largest customers accounted for approximately 12.4% and 11.0% of our net sales in 2018 and 2017, respectively. No single customer accounted for ten percent or more of our net sales in either 2018 or 2017.
In general, the competitive factors in the U.S. chicken industry include price, product quality, product development, brand identification, breadth of product line and customer service. Competitive factors vary by major market. In the U.S. retail market, we believe that product quality, brand awareness, customer service and price are the primary bases of competition. In the foodservice market, competition is based on consistent quality, product development, service and price. The export market is competitive on a global level based on price, product quality, product tailoring, brand identification and customer service. Competitive factors vary by market and may be impacted further by trade restrictions, sanitary and phyto-sanitary issues, brand awareness and the relative strength or weakness of the U.S. dollar against local currencies. We believe that product customization, service and price are the most critical competitive factors for export sales.
The chicken industry is subject to government regulation, particularly in the health, workplace safety and environmental areas, including provisions relating to the discharge of materials into the environment, by the Centers for Disease Control , the USDA, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and state and local regulatory authorities in the U.S. and by similar governmental agencies in the U.K. and Europe and Mexico. Our chicken processing facilities in the U.S. are subject to on-site examination, inspection and regulation by the USDA. The FDA inspects the production of our feed mills in the U.S. Our U.K. and Europe and Mexico food processing facilities and feed mills are subject to on-site examination, inspection and regulation by government agencies that perform functions similar to those performed by the USDA and FDA.
Our operations are subject to extensive regulation by the EPA and other state and local authorities relating to handling and discharge of waste water, storm water, air emissions, treatment, storage and disposal of wastes, handling of hazardous substances and remediation of contaminated soil, surface water and groundwater. Moy Park’s operations in the U.K. and Europe are subject to a number of local, national and regional laws and other requirements relating to the protection of the environment and the safety and health of personnel and the public. Our Mexican operations also are subject to extensive regulation by Mexican environmental authorities. The EPA, Mexican, U.K. and Europe environmental authorities and/or other U.S. or Mexican state and local authorities may, from time to time, adopt revisions to environmental rules and regulations, and/or changes in the terms and conditions of our environmental permits, with which we must comply. Compliance with existing or new environmental requirements, including more stringent limitations imposed or expected in recently-renewed or soon-to be renewed environmental permits, may require capital expenditures and operating expenses which may be significant. Our operations are also subject to regulation by the EPA, OSHA and other state, federal and local regulatory authorities regarding the treatment and disposal of agricultural and food processing wastes, the use and maintenance of refrigeration systems, including ammonia-based chillers, noise, odor and dust management, the operation of mechanized processing equipment and other operations.
Moy Park’s operations in the U.K. and Europe are similarly subject to a number of directives and local, national and regional regulations in relation to the treatment and disposal of agricultural and food processing wastes, the use and maintenance of refrigeration systems, including ammonia-based chillers, noise, odor and dust management, the operation of mechanized processing equipment and other operations. In the U.K. and the European Union, all poultry farms which exceed a threshold size of 40,000 birds placed are required to carry out activities in compliance with their environmental permits and they must use Best Available Techniques in order to achieve a high level of environmental protection.
As of December 30, 2018, we employed approximately 31,100 persons in the U.S., approximately 10,700 persons in Mexico and approximately 10,300 persons in the U.K. and Europe. Approximately 37.1% of the Company’s employees were covered under collective bargaining agreements. Substantially all employees covered under collective bargaining agreements are covered under agreements that expire in 2019 or later. We have not experienced any labor-related work stoppage at any location in over ten years. We believe our relationship with our employees and union leadership is satisfactory. At any given time, we will likely be in some stage of contract negotiations with various collective bargaining units. In the absence of agreements, we may become subject to labor disruption at one or more of these locations, which could have an adverse effect on our financial results.
The Company’s Internet website is www.pilgrims.com. The Company makes available, free of charge, through its Internet website, the Company’s annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, directors and officers Forms 3, 4 and 5, and amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such materials with, or furnishing them to, the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The price of feed ingredients is positively or negatively affected primarily by the global level of supply inventories and demand for feed ingredients, the agricultural policies of the U.S. and foreign governments and weather patterns throughout the world. In particular, weather patterns often change agricultural conditions in an unpredictable manner. A significant change in weather patterns could affect supplies of feed ingredients, as well as both the industry’s and our ability to obtain feed ingredients, grow chickens or deliver products. More recently, feed prices have been impacted by increased demand both domestically for ethanol and globally for protein production, as well as grain production levels outside the U.S. We have recently benefited from low market prices for feed ingredients, but market prices for feed ingredients remain volatile. Consequently, there can be no assurance that the price of corn or soybean meal will not continue to rise as a result of, among other things, increasing demand for these products around the world and alternative uses of these products, such as ethanol and biodiesel production.
We take precautions designed to ensure that our flocks are healthy and that our processing plants and other facilities operate in a sanitary and environmentally-sound manner. However, events beyond our control, such as the outbreaks of disease, either in our own flocks or elsewhere, could significantly affect demand for our products or our ability to conduct our operations.
Furthermore, an outbreak of disease could result in governmental restrictions on the import and export of our fresh chicken or other products to or from our suppliers, facilities or customers, or require us to destroy one or more of our flocks. This could also result in the cancellation of orders by our customers and create adverse publicity that may have a material adverse effect on our ability to market our products successfully and on our business, reputation and prospects.
There have been outbreaks of low pathogenic strains of avian influenza in the U.S., and in Mexico outbreaks of both high and low-pathogenic strains of avian influenza are a fairly common occurrence. Historically, the outbreaks of low pathogenic strains of avian influenza have not generated the same level of concern, or received the same level of publicity or been accompanied by the same reduction in demand for poultry products in certain countries as that associated with highly pathogenic strains such as HPAI H5 and H7N3 or highly infectious strains such as H7N9. Even if no further highly pathogenic or highly contagious strains of avian influenza are confirmed in the U.S., the U.K. and Europe or Mexico, there can be no assurance that outbreaks of these strains in other countries will not materially adversely affect demand for U.S.-produced poultry internationally and/or U.S.-produced, the U.K. and Europe produced or Mexico-produced poultry domestically, and, if any of these strains were to spread to either the U.S., the U.K. and Europe or Mexico, there can be no assurance that it would not significantly affect our ability to conduct our operations and/or demand for our products, in each case in a manner having a material adverse effect on our business, reputation and/or prospects.
We may not be able to successfully integrate the operations of companies we acquire, including Moy Park, or benefit from growth opportunities.
with these types of opportunities, or our failure to successfully integrate any acquired entities into our business, could adversely affect our reputation and have a material adverse effect on us.
Undisclosed liabilities from our acquisitions may harm our financial condition and operating results. If we make acquisitions in the future, these transactions may be structured in such a manner that would result in our assumption of undisclosed liabilities or liabilities not identified during our pre-acquisition due diligence. These obligations and liabilities could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
We may not be able to successfully integrate any growth opportunities we may undertake in the future, including the Moy Park acquisition, or successfully implement appropriate operational, financial and administrative systems and controls to achieve the benefits that we expect to result therefrom. These risks include: (1) failure of the acquired entities to achieve expected results; (2) possible inability to retain or hire key personnel of the acquired entities; and (3) possible inability to achieve expected synergies and/or economies of scale. In addition, the process of integrating businesses could cause interruption of, or loss of momentum in, the activities of our existing business. The diversion of our management’s attention and any delays or difficulties encountered in connection with the integration of these businesses could adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects.
The chicken industry is highly competitive. In the U.S., Mexico and U.K. and Europe, we primarily compete with other vertically integrated chicken companies.
In general, the competitive factors in the U.S. chicken industry include price, product quality, product development, brand identification, breadth of product line and customer service. Competitive factors vary by major market. In the foodservice market, competition is based on consistent quality, product development, service and price. In the U.S. retail market, we believe that competition is based on product quality, brand awareness, customer service and price. Further, there is some competition with non-vertically integrated further processors in the prepared chicken business. In Mexico, where product differentiation has traditionally been limited, we believe product quality and price have been the most critical competitive factors. In the U.K. and Europe retail and food service markets, key competitive factors include price, delivering consistent levels of the highest quality, service level and delivering strong innovation. The fresh U.K. and Europe market is almost exclusively retailer private label with the exclusion of the Republic of Ireland where Moy Park is a leading brand. The U.K. fresh market is almost exclusively sourced from within the U.K. so vertical integration is a prerequisite for operating in this market. The U.K. prepared foods market is less exclusively sourced from within the U.K. so vertical integration is less of a consideration and competition is opened up to other processors, some of whom produce or source from abroad.
Our two largest customers accounted for approximately 12.4% of our net sales in 2018. Our business could suffer significant setbacks in revenues and operating income if we lost one or more of our largest customers, or if our customers’ plans and/or markets should change significantly.
We have significant operations and assets located in Mexico and Europe and may participate in or acquire operations and assets in other foreign countries in the future. Foreign operations are subject to a number of special risks such as currency exchange rate fluctuations, trade barriers, exchange controls, expropriation and changes in laws and policies, including tax laws and laws governing foreign-owned operations.
Our operations in Mexico and Europe are conducted through subsidiaries organized under non-U.S. laws. Claims of creditors of our subsidiaries, including trade creditors, will generally have priority as to the assets of our subsidiaries over our claims. Additionally, the ability of these subsidiaries to make payments and distributions to us are limited by terms of the Moy Park Multicurrency Revolving Facility Agreement and may be limited by the terms of our Mexico credit facility and will be subject to, among other things, the laws applicable to these subsidiaries. In the past, these laws have not had a material adverse effect on the ability of these subsidiaries to make these payments and distributions. However, laws such as these may have a material adverse effect on the ability of these subsidiaries to make these payments and distributions in the future.
Disruptions in international markets, distribution channels and tariffs could adversely affect our business.
Historically, we have targeted international markets to generate additional demand for our products. In particular, given U.S. customers’ general preference for white meat, we have targeted international markets for the sale of dark chicken meat, specifically leg quarters, which are a natural by-product of our U.S. operations’ concentration on prepared chicken products. As part of this initiative, we have created a significant international distribution network into several markets in Mexico, the Middle East and Asia. Our success in these markets may be, and our success in recent periods has been, adversely affected by disruptions in chicken export markets. For example, China imposed anti-dumping and countervailing duties on the U.S. chicken producers in 2010 that have deterred Chinese importers from purchases of U.S.-origin chicken products. Russia also banned the importation of chicken and other agricultural products from the U.S. and certain other western countries in August 2014 in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Europe on Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
A significant risk is disruption due to import restrictions and tariffs, other trade protection measures, and import or export licensing requirements regarding food products imposed by foreign countries. In addition, disruptions may be caused by outbreaks of disease such as avian influenza, either in our flocks or elsewhere in the world, and resulting changes in consumer preferences.
Immigration reform continues to attract significant attention in the public arena and the U.S. Congress. If new federal immigration legislation is enacted or if states in which we do business enact immigration laws, such laws may contain provisions that could make it more difficult or costly for us to hire U.S. citizens and/or legal immigrant workers. Additionally, there may be uncertainty as to the position the U.S. will take with respect to immigration following the 2016 U.S. presidential election and related change in the U.S. political agenda. In such case, we may incur additional costs to run our business or may have to change the way we conduct our operations, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. Also, despite our past and continuing efforts to hire only U.S. citizens and/or persons legally authorized to work in the U.S., we may be unable to ensure that all of our employees are U.S. citizens and/or persons legally authorized to work in the U.S. No assurances can be given that enforcement efforts by governmental authorities will not disrupt a portion of our workforce or operations at one or more facilities, thereby negatively impacting our business. Also, no assurance can be given that further enforcement efforts by governmental authorities will not result in the assessment of fines that could adversely affect our financial position, operating results or cash flows.
JBS USA beneficially owns a majority of our common stock and has the ability to control the vote on most matters brought before the holders of our common stock.
JBS USA beneficially owns a majority of the shares and voting power of our common stock and is entitled to appoint a majority of the members of our Board of Directors. As a result, JBS USA will, subject to restrictions on its voting power and actions in a stockholders agreement between JBS USA and us and our organization documents, have the ability to control our management, policies and financing decisions, elect a majority of the members of our Board of Directors at the annual meeting and control the vote on most matters coming before the holders of our common stock.
ability to elect one additional member of our Board of Directors while the other holders of our common stock would have the ability to elect one less member of our Board of Directors.
J&F Investimentos S.A. is investigating improper payments made in Brazil in connection with admissions of illicit conduct to the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor’s Office and the outcome of this investigation and related investigations by the Brazilian government could have a material adverse effect on us.
On May 3, 2017, certain officers of J&F Investimentos S.A. (“J&F,” and together with the companies controlled by J&F, the “J&F Group”), a company organized in Brazil and an indirect controlling stockholder of the Company, including a former senior executive and former board members of the Company, entered into plea bargain agreements (collectively, the “Plea Bargain Agreements”) with the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor’s Office (Ministério Público Federal) (the “MPF”) in connection with certain misconduct by J&F and such individuals acting in their capacity as J&F executives. The details of such misconduct are set forth in separate annexes to the Plea Bargain Agreements, and include admissions of payments to politicians and political parties in Brazil during a ten-year period in exchange for receiving, or attempting to receive, favorable treatment for certain J&F Group companies in Brazil.
On June 5, 2017, J&F, for itself and as the controlling shareholder of the J&F Group companies, entered into a leniency agreement (the “Leniency Agreement”) with the MPF, whereby J&F assumed responsibility for the conduct that was described in the annexes to the Plea Bargain Agreements. In connection with the Leniency Agreement, J&F has agreed to pay a fine of 10.3 billion Brazilian reais, adjusted for inflation, over a 25-year period. Various proceedings by Brazilian governmental authorities remain pending against J&F and certain of its officers to potentially invalidate the Plea Bargain Agreements and impose more severe penalties for additional alleged misconduct that were not disclosed in the annexes to the Plea Bargain Agreements.
J&F is conducting an internal investigation in accordance with the terms of the Leniency Agreement, and has engaged outside advisors to assist in conducting this investigation, which is ongoing, and with which we are fully cooperating. JBS S.A. and the Company have engaged outside U.S. legal counsel to: (i) conduct an independent investigation in connection with matters disclosed in the Leniency Agreement and the Plea Bargain Agreements; and (ii) communicate with relevant U.S. authorities, including the Department of Justice regarding the factual findings of that investigation. Additionally, JBS S.A. and the Company have taken, and are continuing to take, measures to enhance their compliance programs, including to prevent and detect bribery and corruption. We cannot predict when the J&F and JBS S.A. investigations will be completed or the results of such investigations, including whether any litigation will be brought against us or the outcome or impact of any resulting litigation. We will monitor the results of the investigations. Any proceedings that require us to make substantial payments, affect our reputation or otherwise interfere with our business operations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
Any further developments in these, or other, matters involving the controlling shareholders, directors, or officers of J&F, or other parties affiliated with us, could subject JBS S.A. and its subsidiaries (including the Company) to potential fines or penalties, may materially adversely affect the public perception or reputation of JBS S.A. and its subsidiaries (including the Company) and could have a material adverse effect on JBS S.A. and its subsidiaries (including the Company).
We are involved on an ongoing basis in litigation relating to alleged antitrust violations or arising in the ordinary course of business or otherwise. For example, between September 2, 2016 and October 13, 2016, a series of purported class action lawsuits were brought against Pilgrim’s and 13 other producers by and on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers of broiler chickens. The complaints, which were filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, seek, among other relief, treble damages for an alleged conspiracy among defendants to reduce output and increase prices of broiler chickens from the period of January 2008 to the present. See “Item 3. Legal Proceedings.” Trends in litigation may include class actions involving consumers, shareholders, employees or injured persons, and claims relating to commercial, labor, employment, antitrust, securities or environmental matters. Litigation trends and the outcome of litigation cannot be predicted with certainty, and adverse litigation trends and outcomes could result material damages, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to anti-corruption laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act.
We are subject to a number of anti-corruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) and the UK Bribery Act.
under certain circumstances. The FCPA also requires maintenance of adequate record-keeping and internal accounting practices to accurately reflect transactions. Under the FCPA, companies operating in the United States may be held liable for actions taken by their strategic or local partners or representatives.
The UK Bribery Act is broader in scope than the FCPA in that it directly prohibits commercial bribery (i.e. bribing others than government officials) in addition to bribery of government officials and it does not recognize certain exceptions, notably for facilitation payments, that are permitted by the FCPA. The UK Bribery Act also has wide jurisdiction. It covers any offense committed in the United Kingdom, but proceedings can also be brought if a person who has a close connection with the United Kingdom commits the relevant acts or omissions outside the United Kingdom. The UK Bribery Act defines a person with a close connection to include British citizens, individuals ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and bodies incorporated in the United Kingdom.
The UK Bribery Act also provides that any organization that conducts part of its business in the United Kingdom, even if it is not incorporated in the United Kingdom, can be prosecuted for the corporate offense of failing to prevent bribery by an associated person, even if the bribery took place entirely outside the United Kingdom and the associated person had no connection with the United Kingdom. Other jurisdictions in which we operate have adopted similar anti-corruption, anti-bribery and anti-kickback laws to which we are subject. Civil and criminal penalties may be imposed for violations of these laws.
Although the code of ethics and standards of conduct adopted by JBS S.A. in late 2015 requires our employees to comply with the FCPA and the UK Bribery Act, we are still implementing a formal compliance program and policies that cover our employees and consultants. We operate in some countries which are viewed as high risk for corruption. Despite our ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with the FCPA, the UK Bribery Act and similar laws, there can be no assurance that our directors, officers, employees, agents, third-party intermediaries and the companies to which we outsource certain of our business operations, will comply with those laws and our anti-corruption policies, and we may be ultimately held responsible for any such non-compliance. If we or our directors or officers violate anti-corruption laws or other laws governing the conduct of business with government entities (including local laws), we or our directors or officers may be subject to criminal and civil penalties or other remedial measures, which could harm our reputation and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Any actual or alleged violations of such laws could also harm our reputation or have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We are increasingly dependent on information technology, and our business and reputation could suffer if we are unable to protect our information technology systems against, or effectively respond to, cyber-attacks, other cyber incidents or security breaches or if our information technology systems are otherwise disrupted.
systems are provided by, third parties who could choose to discontinue their relationship with us. If critical information systems fail or these systems or related software or services are otherwise unavailable, our ability to process orders, maintain proper levels of inventories, collect accounts receivable, pay expenses, and maintain the security of Company and customer data could be adversely affected.
Cyber-attacks and other cyber incidents are occurring more frequently and are constantly evolving in nature and sophistication. Our failure to maintain our cyber-security measures and keep abreast of new and evolving threats may make our systems vulnerable. The potential consequences of a material cybersecurity incident include reputational damage, litigation with third parties, regulatory actions, disruption of plant operations, and increased cybersecurity protection and remediation costs. There can be no assurance that we will be able to prevent all of the rapidly evolving forms of increasingly sophisticated and frequent cyberattacks. The vulnerability of our systems and our failure to identify or respond timely to cyber incidents could have an adverse effect on our operations and reputation and expose us to liability or regulatory enforcement actions.
Recent legal developments in Europe could result in changes to our business practices, penalties, increased cost of operations, or otherwise harm our business.
To conduct our operations, we regularly move data across national borders and must comply with increasingly complex and rigorous regulatory standards enacted to protect business and personal data in the U.S. and elsewhere. For example, the European Union recently adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”). The GDPR imposes additional obligations on companies regarding the handling of personal data and provides certain individual privacy rights to persons whose data is stored. Compliance with existing, proposed and recently enacted laws and regulations can be costly; any failure to comply with these regulatory standards could subject us to legal and reputational risks including proceedings against the Company by governmental entities or others, fines and penalties, damage to our reputation and credibility and could have a negative impact on our business and results of operations.
On a consolidated basis, as of December 30, 2018, we had approximately $505.6 million in secured indebtedness, $1.8 billion of unsecured indebtedness and had the ability to borrow approximately $920.9 million under our credit agreements. Significant amounts of cash flow will be necessary to make payments of interest and repay the principal amount of such indebtedness.
We have a significant amount of goodwill on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. Under generally accepted accounting principles, goodwill must be evaluated for impairment annually or more frequently if events indicate it is warranted. If the carrying value of our reporting units exceeds their current fair value as determined based on the discounted future cash flows of the related business, the goodwill is considered impaired and is reduced to fair value by a non-cash charge to earnings. Events and conditions that could result in impairment in the value of our goodwill include changes in the industry in which we operate, particularly the impact of a downturn in the global economy or the economies of geographic regions or countries in which we operate, as well as competition, adverse changes in the regulatory environment, or other factors leading to reduction in expected long-term sales or profitability.
Media campaigns related to food production and regulatory and customer focus on environmental, social and governance responsibility could expose us to additional costs or risks.
In addition, regulators, stockholders, customers and other interested parties have focused increasingly on the environmental, social and governance practices of companies. This has led to an increase in regulations and may continue to cause us to be subject to additional regulations in the future. Our customers or other interested parties may also require us to implement certain environmental, social or governance procedures or standards before doing or continuing to do business with us. This increased attention on environmental, social and governance practices could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our operations may be impacted by the United Kingdom’s proposed exit from the European Union.
on any agreements the U.K. makes to retain access to markets in the European Union following the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union. In addition, we expect that Brexit could lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the U.K. determines which European Union laws to replicate or replace. If the U.K. were to significantly alter its regulations affecting the food industry, we could face significant new costs. It may also be time-consuming and expensive for us to alter our internal operations in order to comply with new regulations. Additionally, Moy Park’s results of operations may be adversely affected if the U.K. is unable to secure replacement trade agreements and arrangements on terms as favorable as those currently enjoyed by the U.K. Any of the effects of Brexit could adversely affect our business, business opportunities, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Due to the impact of Hurricane Maria in 2017, our Puerto Rico facilities were not operational in January and February 2018, partially reducing the reported average capacity utilization for the year.
In the U.S., our corporate offices share a building with JBS in Greeley, Colorado. We own a building in Richardson, Texas, which houses our computer data center. We also own office buildings in Broadway, Virginia, and Pittsburg, Texas, which house additional administrative, sales and marketing, research and development, and other support functions. We also lease office buildings in Bentonville, Arkansas, and Cincinnati, Ohio for members of our sales team and building space in Carrollton, Texas, which houses a second computer data center.
In Mexico, we own an office building for administration in Gómez Palacio, Durango and lease an office building for Mexican corporate officers in Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro. We also lease office space in Mexico City that houses our Mexican sales office.
In the U.K., we lease office space in Craigavon, U.K., which houses administrative, sales, marketing and other support personnel, and office space in Portadown, U.K., which houses information technology personnel. We also lease a space in Ballymena, U.K. that houses a research and development lab.
A Mexico subsidiary of the Company is currently appealing an unfavorable tax adjustment proposed by Mexican Tax Authorities due to an examination of a specific transaction undertaken by the Mexico subsidiary during tax years 2009 and 2010. Amounts under appeal are $24.3 million and $16.1 million for tax years 2009 and 2010, respectively. No loss has been recorded for these amounts at this time.
Between September 2, 2016 and October 13, 2016, a series of purported federal class action lawsuits styled as In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:16-cv-08637 were filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against PPC and 13 other producers by and on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers of broiler chickens alleging violations of federal and state antitrust and unfair competition laws. The complaints seek, among other relief, treble damages for an alleged conspiracy among defendants to reduce output and increase prices of broiler chickens from the period of January 2008 to the present. The class plaintiffs have filed three consolidated amended complaints: one on behalf of direct purchasers and two on behalf of distinct groups of indirect purchasers. Between December 2017 and January 2019, eighteen individual direct action complaints (Affiliated Foods, Inc., et al., v. Claxton Poultry Farms, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:17-cv-08850; Sysco Corp. v. Tyson Foods Inc., et al, Case No. 1:18-cv-00700; US Foods Inc. v. Tyson Foods Inc., et al, Case No. 1:18-cv-00702; Action Meat Distributors, Inc. et al., v. Claxton Poultry Farms, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-03471; Jetro Holdings, LLC, v. Tyson Foods, Inc. et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-04000; Associated Grocers of the South, Inc. et al., v. Tyson Foods, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-4616; The Kroger Co., et al. v. Tyson Foods, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-04534; Ahold Delhaize USA, Inc. v. Koch Foods, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-05351; Samuels as Trustee In Bankruptcy for Central Grocers, Inc. et al v. Norman W. Fries, Inc., d/b/a Claxton Poultry Farms, Inc. et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-05341; W. Lee Flowers & Company, Inc. v. Norman W. Fries, Inc., d/b/a Claxton Poultry Farms, Inc. et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-05345; BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. v. Tyson Foods, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-05877; United Supermarkets LLC, et al. v. Tyson Foods Inc., et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-06693; Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc. v. Koch Foods, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-06316 (transferred from the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas on September 17, 2018, following Defendants’ successful motion to transfer); Shamrock Foods Company and United Food Service, Inc. v. Tyson Foods, Inc., et al., Case No. 18-cv-7284; Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., et al. v. Koch Foods, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-00245; Quirch Foods, LLC, f/k/a Quirch Foods Co. v. Koch Foods, Inc., et al., Case No. 18-cv-08511; Sherwood Food Distributors, L.L.C., et al. v. Tyson Foods, Inc., et al., Case No. 19-cv-00354), and Hooters of America, LLC v. Tyson Foods, Inc., et al, Case No. 1:19-cv-00390 (N.D. Ill.) were filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by individual direct purchaser entities, the allegations of which largely mirror those in the class action complaints. Substantial completion of document discovery for most Defendants, including PPC, occurred on July 18, 2018. The Court’s scheduling order currently requires completion of fact discovery on October 14, 2019; class certification briefing and expert reports proceeding from November 12, 2019 to July 14, 2020; and summary judgment to proceed 60 days after the Court rules on motions for class certification. The Court has ordered the parties to coordinate scheduling of the direct action complaints with the class complaints with any necessary modifications to reflect time of filing. Discovery will be consolidated.
plaintiff’s complaint without prejudice and issued final judgment in favor of PPC and the other defendants. On April 11, 2018, the plaintiff moved for reconsideration of the Court’s decision and for permission to file a Second Amended Complaint. PPC and the other defendants filed a response to the plaintiff’s motion on April 25, 2018. On November 19, 2018, the Court denied the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration and granted plaintiff leave to file a Second Amended Complaint. As of January 18, 2019, plaintiff has not yet filed a Second Amended Complaint.
On January 27, 2017, a purported class action on behalf of broiler chicken farmers was brought against PPC and four other producers in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, alleging, among other things, a conspiracy to reduce competition for grower services and depress the price paid to growers. Plaintiffs allege violations of the Sherman Act and the Packers and Stockyards Act and seek, among other relief, treble damages. The complaint was consolidated with a subsequently filed consolidated amended class action complaint styled as In re Broiler Chicken Grower Litigation, Case No. CIV-17-033-RJS (the “Grower Litigation”). The defendants (including PPC) jointly moved to dismiss the consolidated amended complaint on September 9, 2017. The Court initially held oral argument on January 19, 2018, during which it considered and granted only motions from certain other defendants who were challenging jurisdiction. Oral argument on the remaining pending motions in the Oklahoma court occurred on April 20, 2018. Rulings on the motion are pending. In addition, on March 12, 2018, the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division (“Bankruptcy Court”) enjoined plaintiffs from litigating the Grower Litigation complaint as pled against the Company because allegations in the consolidated complaint violate the confirmation order relating to the Company’s 2008-2009 bankruptcy proceedings. Specifically, the 2009 bankruptcy confirmation order bars any claims against the Company based on conduct occurring before December 28, 2009. On March 13, 2018, Pilgrim’s notified the trial court of the Bankruptcy Court’s injunction. To date, plaintiffs have not amended the consolidated complaint to comply with the Bankruptcy Court’s injunction order or the confirmation order.
On March 9, 2017, a stockholder derivative action styled as DiSalvio v. Lovette, et al., No. 2017 cv. 30207, was brought against all of PPC’s directors and its Chief Financial Officer, Fabio Sandri, in the District Court for the County of Weld in Colorado. The complaint alleges, among other things, that the named defendants breached their fiduciary duties by failing to prevent PPC and its officers from engaging in an antitrust conspiracy as alleged in the In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, and issuing false and misleading statements as alleged in the Hogan class action litigation. On April 17, 2017, a related stockholder derivative action styled Brima v. Lovette, et al., No. 2017 cv. 30308, was brought against all of PPC’s directors and its Chief Financial Officer in the District Court for the County of Weld in Colorado. The Brima complaint contains largely the same allegations as the DiSalvio complaint. On May 4, 2017, the plaintiffs in both the DiSalvio and Brima actions moved to (i) consolidate the two stockholder derivative cases, (ii) stay the consolidated action until the resolution of the motion to dismiss in the Hogan putative securities class action, and (iii) appoint co-lead counsel. The Court granted the motion on May 8, 2017, staying the proceedings pending resolution of the motion to dismiss in the Hogan action.
In January 2018, a stockholder derivative action entitled Raul v. Nogueira de Souza, et al., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado against the Company, as nominal defendant, as well as the Company’s directors, its Chief Financial Officer, and majority stockholder, JBS S.A. The complaint alleges, among other things, that (i) defendants permitted the Company to omit material information from its proxy statements filed in 2014 through 2017 related to the conduct of Wesley Mendonça Batista and Joesley Mendonça Batista, (ii) the individual defendants and JBS S.A. breached their fiduciary duties by failing to prevent the Company and its officers from engaging in an antitrust conspiracy as alleged in the Broiler Litigation and (iii) issuing false and misleading statements as alleged in the Hogan class action litigation. On May 17, 2018, the plaintiffs filed an unopposed motion to stay proceedings pending a final resolution of the Hogan class action litigation. The court-ordered deadline for the defendants to file an answer or otherwise respond to the complaint was originally set for July 30, 2018. This deadline was extended to August 31, 2018, at which time the plaintiffs filed an unopposed motion to voluntarily dismiss the complaint without prejudice. The Court granted the plaintiffs’ motion on September 4, 2018.
15, 2018, the parties argued the dismissal of the remaining defendants (JBS S.A., JBS Holding Lux, and director defendants Lovette, Nogueira de Souza, Tomazoni, Farahat, and Molina) before the Chancery Court. After arguments concluded, the Chancery Court asked the parties to submit supplemental briefing on the viability of an additional ground for dismissal. The parties filed their respective supplemental briefs on December 21, 2018. The Chancery Court has yet to issue it’s decision.
The Company believes it has strong defenses in each of the above litigations and intends to contest them vigorously. The Company cannot predict the outcome of these actions nor when they will be resolved. If the plaintiffs were to prevail in any of these litigations, the Company could be liable for damages, which could be material and could adversely affect its financial condition or results of operations.
The Company estimates there were approximately 41,000 holders (including individual participants in security position listings) of the Company’s common stock as of February 13, 2019.
The Company has no current intention to pay any dividends to its stockholders. Any change in dividend policy will depend upon future conditions, including earnings and financial condition, general business conditions, any applicable contractual limitations and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors in its discretion.
Both the U.S. Credit Facility and the indentures governing the Company’s senior notes restrict, but do not prohibit, the Company from declaring dividends. The terms of the Moy Park Multicurrency Revolving Facility Agreement restrict Moy Park’s ability and the ability of certain of Moy Park’s subsidiaries to, among other things, make payments and distributions to us. See "Note 11. Long-Term Debt and Other Borrowing Arrangements” of our Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements included in this annual report for additional information.
On October 31, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a $200.0 million share repurchase authorization. The Company plans to repurchase shares through various means which may include but are not limited to open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, the use of derivative instruments and/or accelerated share repurchase programs. The extent to which the Company repurchases its shares and the timing of such repurchases will vary and depend upon market conditions and other corporate considerations, as determined by the Company’s management team. The Company reserves the right to limit or terminate the repurchase program at any time without notice. For the fifty-two weeks ended December 30, 2018, the Company had repurchased 15,578 shares under this program for an aggregate cost of $0.2 million and an average price of $15.18 per share. Set forth below is information regarding our stock repurchases for the thirteen weeks ended December 30, 2018.
October 1, 2018 through October 28, 2018.
October 29, 2018 through December 2, 2018.
Reflects the remaining dollar value of shares that may yet be repurchased under our share repurchase authorization.
The graph below matches the cumulative 5-Year total return of holders of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation’s common stock with the cumulative total returns of the Russell 2000 index and a customized peer group of three companies that includes: Hormel Foods Corp, Sanderson Farms Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc. The graph assumes that the value of the investment in our common stock, in each index, and in the peer group (including reinvestment of dividends) was $100 on December 29, 2013 and tracks it through December 30, 2018.
The graph covers the period from December 29, 2013 to December 30, 2018, and reflects the performance of the Company’s single class of common stock. The stock price performance represented by this graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock performance.
Income tax expense in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 resulted primarily from expense recorded on our year-to-date income.
Pride Corporation per common diluted share. Adjusted net income attributable to Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation per common diluted share is not a measurement of financial performance under GAAP, has limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for an analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. It does not reflect the impact of earnings or charges resulting from matters we consider to not be indicative of our ongoing operations.
Includes amortization of capitalized financing costs of approximately $5.5 million, $6.0 million, $5.3 million, $4.1 million, and $13.7 million in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively.
Fiscal 2017 includes approximately three and one-half months of operating results from the acquisition of Moy Park, acquired for cash of $303.3 million and a note payable to the seller in the amount of £562.5 million on September 8, 2017. Fiscal 2018 and thereafter includes a full year of operating results.
Fiscal 2017 includes approximately eleven and one-half months of operating results from the acquisition of GNP, acquired for a cash purchase price of $350 million on January 6, 2017. Fiscal 2018 and thereafter includes a full year of operating results.
The Company measures the financial statements of its Mexico subsidiaries as if the U.S. dollar were the functional currency. Accordingly, we remeasure assets and liabilities, other than nonmonetary assets, of the Mexico subsidiaries at current exchange rates. We remeasure nonmonetary assets using the historical exchange rate in effect on the date of each asset’s acquisition. Currency exchange gains or losses resulting from these remeasurements are included in the line item Foreign currency transaction losses (gains) in the Consolidated and Combined Statements of Income.
Other nonrecurring losses include expenses incurred for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, Hurricane Michael in Florida and certain Moy Park severance charges.
We are one of the largest chicken producers in the world, with operations in the United States (“U.S.”), the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), Mexico, France, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands. We are primarily engaged in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products to retailers, distributors and foodservice operators. We offer a wide range of products to our customers through strong national and international distribution channels. Pilgrim’s fresh chicken products consist of refrigerated (non-frozen) whole chickens, whole cut-up chickens and selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated. Our prepared chicken products include fully cooked, ready-to-cook and individually frozen chicken parts, strips, nuggets and patties, some of which are either breaded or non-breaded and either marinated or non-marinated, ready-to-eat meals, multi-protein frozen foods, vegetarian foods and desserts.
We market our balanced portfolio of fresh, prepared and value-added chicken products to a diverse set of over 6,000 customers across the U.S., the U.K. and Europe, Mexico and in approximately 100 other countries, with no single customer accounting for more than ten percent of total sales. We have become a valuable partner to our customers and a recognized industry leader by consistently providing high-quality products and services designed to meet their needs and enhance their business. Our sales efforts are largely targeted towards the foodservice industry, principally chain restaurants and food processors, such as Chick‑fil‑A® and retail customers, including grocery store chains and wholesale clubs, such as Kroger®, Costco®, Publix®, and H-E-B®.
As a vertically integrated company, we control every phase of the production process, which helps us better manage food safety and quality, as well as more effectively control margins and improve customer service. We operate feed mills, hatcheries, processing plants and distribution centers in 14 U.S. states, the U.K., Mexico, France, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands. Our plants are strategically located to ensure that customers timely receive fresh products. With our global network of approximately 5,300 growers, 38 feed mills, 49 hatcheries, 36 processing plants, 16 prepared foods cook plants, 22 distribution centers, nine rendering facilities and four pet food plants, we believe we are well-positioned to supply the growing demand for our products.
Our U.K. and Europe segment reflects the operations of Granite Holdings Sàrl and its subsidiaries (together, “Moy Park”), which we acquired on September 8, 2017. Moy Park is a leading and highly regarded U.K. food company, providing fresh, high quality and locally farmed poultry and convenience food products. Moy Park has operated in the U.K. retail market for over 50 years and delivers a range of fresh, ready-to-cook, coated and ready-to-eat poultry products to major retailers and large foodservice customers throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and the Netherlands. We believe that we operate one of the most efficient business models for chicken production in the U.K. and Europe.
We are one of the largest, and we believe one of the most efficient, producers and sellers of chicken in Mexico. Our presence in Mexico provides access to a market with growing demand and has enabled us to leverage our operational strengths within the region. The market for chicken products in Mexico is still developing, with most sales attributed to fresh, commodity-oriented, market price-based business. Additionally, we are an important player in the live market in Mexico. We believe our Mexico business is well positioned to continue benefiting from these trends in the Mexican consumer market.
As of December 30, 2018, we had approximately 52,100 employees and the capacity to process more than 45.3 million birds per week for a total of more than 13.4 billion pounds of live chicken annually. In 2018, we produced 10.7 billion pounds of chicken products, generating approximately $10.9 million in net sales and approximately $246.8 million in net income attributable to Pilgrim’s.
We operate on a 52/53-week fiscal year that ends on the Sunday falling on or before December 31. Any reference we make to a particular year (for example, 2018) in this report applies to our fiscal year and not the calendar year. Fiscal 2018 was a 52-week fiscal year.
We reported net income attributable to Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation of $247.9 million, or $1.00 per diluted common share, for 2018. These operating results included gross profit of $843.5 million. During 2018, we generated $491.7 million of cash from operations.
(a) We obtain corn and soybean prices from the Chicago Board of Trade, and we obtain wheat prices from the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange.
We purchase derivative financial instruments, specifically exchange-traded futures and options, in an attempt to mitigate price risk related to our anticipated consumption of commodity inputs such as corn, soybean meal, wheat, soybean oil and natural gas. We will sometimes purchase a derivative instrument to minimize the impact of a commodity’s price volatility on our operating results. We will also purchase derivative financial instruments in an attempt to mitigate currency exchange rate exposure related to the financial statements of our Mexico segment that are denominated in Mexican pesos and our U.K. and Europe segment that are denominated in British pounds.
For our Mexico segment, we do not designate derivative financial instruments that we purchase to mitigate commodity purchase or currency exchange rate exposures as cash flow hedges; therefore, we recognize changes in the fair value of these derivative financial instruments immediately in earnings.
For our U.K. and Europe segment, we do designate certain derivative financial instruments that we have purchased to mitigate foreign currency transaction exposures as cash flow hedges; therefore, before the settlement date of the financial derivative instruments, we recognize changes in the fair value of the effective portion of the cash flow hedge in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), while we recognize changes in the fair value of the ineffective portion immediately in earnings. When the derivative financial instruments associated with the effective portion are settled, the amount in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) is then reclassified to earnings. Gains or losses related to these derivative financial instruments are included in the line item Cost of sales in the Consolidated and Combined Statements of Income.
We recognized $27.1 million in net losses related to changes in the fair value of our derivative financial instruments during 2018. We recognized $6.7 million in net gains and $4.3 million in net losses related to changes in the fair value of our derivative financial instruments during 2017 and 2016, respectively.
Although changes in the market price paid for feed ingredients impact cash outlays at the time we purchase the ingredients, such changes do not immediately impact cost of sales. The cost of feed ingredients is recognized in cost of sales, on a first-in-first-out basis, at the same time that the sales of the chickens that consume the feed grains are recognized. Thus, there is a lag between the time cash is paid for feed ingredients and the time the cost of such feed ingredients is reported in cost of goods sold. For example, corn delivered to a feed mill and paid for one week might be used to manufacture feed the following week. However, the chickens that eat that feed might not be processed and sold for another 42 to 63 days, and only at that time will the costs of the feed consumed by the chickens become included in cost of goods sold.
changes in quoted market prices may be a good indicator of the commodity’s base price, the components mentioned above may have a significant impact on the total change in grain costs recognized from period to period.
Moy Park Acquisition. On September 8, 2017, we acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Moy Park from JBS S.A. for cash of $301.3 million and a note payable to the seller in the amount of £562.5 million. Moy Park is one of the top-ten food companies in the U.K., Northern Ireland's largest private sector business and one of Europe's leading poultry producers. With 4 fresh processing plants, 10 prepared foods cook plants, 3 feed mills, 7 hatcheries and 1 rendering facility in the U.K., France and the Netherlands, the acquired business processes 6.0 million birds per seven-day work week, in addition to producing around 456.0 million pounds of prepared foods per year. Moy Park currently has approximately 10,200 employees. See “Note 2. Business Acquisitions” of our Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements included in this annual report for additional information relating to this acquisition. The Moy Park operations constitutes our U.K. and Europe segment.
The acquisition was treated as a common-control transaction under U.S. GAAP. A common-control transaction is a transfer of net assets or an exchange of equity interests between entities under the control of the same parent. The accounting and reporting for a transaction between entities under common control is not to be considered a business combination under U.S. GAAP. Accordingly, for the period from September 30, 2015 through September 7, 2017, the Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements includes the accounts of our company and our majority-owned subsidiaries combined with the accounts of Moy Park. For the periods subsequent to September 8, 2017, the Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements includes the accounts of our company and our majority-owned subsidiaries, including Moy Park.
GNP Acquisition. On January 6, 2017, we acquired 100% of the membership interests of GNP from Maschhoff Family Foods, LLC for a cash purchase price of $350 million, subject to customary working capital adjustments. GNP is a vertically integrated poultry business based in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The acquired business has a production capacity of 2.1 million birds per five-day work week in its two plants and employed approximately 1,600 people at the time of acquisition. This acquisition further strengthens our strategic position in the U.S. chicken market. The GNP operations are included in our U.S. segment.
We applied the guidance in Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) 118 when accounting for the enactment date effects of the Tax Act. As of December 30, 2018, we have completed our accounting for all of the tax effects of the Tax Act. As further discussed below, during 2018, we recognized adjustments of $18.2 million to the provisional amounts recorded at December 31, 2017 and included these adjustments as a component of income tax expense.
As of December 31, 2017, we estimated no tax liability on foreign unremitted earnings due to a net earnings and profits (“E&P”) deficit on accumulated post-1986 deferred foreign income. Therefore, we did not accrue any amount of tax expense for the Tax Act’s one-time transition tax on the foreign subsidiaries’ accumulated, unremitted earnings going back to 1986 for the year ended December 31, 2017. Upon further analysis of certain aspects of the Tax Act and a refinement of the historical calculation of E&P on accumulated post-1986 deferred foreign income during 2018, we finalized the E&P analysis of our foreign subsidiaries and recalculated significant overall positive E&P. Therefore, due to this recalculation, we recorded a $26.4 million tax liability for the one-time transition tax. This one-time transition tax adjustment increased the 2018 effective tax rate by approximately 7.9%. We have elected to pay this liability over the eight-year period provided in the Tax Act. As of December 30, 2018 the remaining balance of our transition tax obligation is $7.7 million, which will be paid over the next seven years. No additional income taxes have been provided for any remaining undistributed foreign earnings not subject to the one-time transition tax or any additional outside basis difference inherent in these foreign subsidiaries, as these amounts continue to be permanently reinvested in foreign operations. The undistributed earnings of our Mexico, Puerto Rico and U.K. subsidiaries totaled $683.0 million, $13.2 million and $2.2 million, respectively, at December 30, 2018.
an additional $8.2 million tax benefit resulting from the Tax Act’s rate reduction. This benefit reduced the 2018 effective tax rate by approximately 2.5%.
The Tax Act subjects a U.S. shareholder to tax on global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) earned by certain foreign subsidiaries. The FASB Staff Q&A, Topic 740, No. 5, Accounting for GILTI, states that an entity can make an accounting policy election to either recognize deferred taxes for temporary basis differences expected to reverse as GILTI in future years or provide for the tax expense related to GILTI in the year the tax is incurred as a period expense only. We have elected to account for GILTI in the year the tax is incurred. As of December 30, 2018, we recorded a $5.4 million federal GILTI tax liability, which increased the 2018 effective tax rate by approximately 1.6%.
The Tax Act provides for a foreign-derived intangible income (“FDII”) deduction, which is available to domestic C corporations that derive income from the export of property and services. As of December 30, 2018, we recorded a $0.1 million federal FDII benefit, which decreased the 2018 effective tax rate by an immaterial amount.
We continue to monitor recent trade and tariff activity and its potential impact to exports and inputs costs across our segments. Currently, we are experiencing impacts to domestic and export prices of chicken resulting from uncertainty in trade policies and increased tariffs. We are unable to give any assurance as to the scope, duration, or impact of any changes in trade policies or tariffs, how successful any mitigation efforts will be, or the extent to which mitigation will be necessary, and accordingly, changes in trade policies and increased tariffs could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We operate in three reportable business segments: the U.S., the U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. We measure segment profit as operating income. Corporate expenses are allocated to Mexico based upon various apportionment methods for specific expenditures incurred related thereto with the remaining amounts allocated to the U.S. For additional information, see “Note 22. Business Segment and Geographic Reporting” of our Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements included in this annual report.
U.S. net sales generated in 2018 decreased $17.6 million, or 0.2%, from U.S. net sales generated in 2017 primarily because of a decrease in net sales per pound partially offset by an increase in sales volume. The decrease in net sales per pound, which resulted primarily from lower market prices, contributed $120.5 million, or 1.6 percentage points, to the decrease in net sales. This decrease in net sales per pound was partially offset by increased sales volume of $102.9 million, or 5.0 percentage points. Included in U.S. sales generated during 2018 and 2017 were sales to JBS USA Food Company totaling $13.8 million and $15.3 million, respectively.
U.K. and Europe sales generated in 2018 increased $152.3 million, or 7.6%, from U.K. and Europe sales generated in 2017, primarily because of the positive impact of foreign currency translation, an increase in net sales per pound and an increase in sales volume. The positive impact of foreign currency translation contributed $74.4 million, or 3.7 percentage points to the increase in U.K. and Europe net sales. The increase in net sales per pound contributed $53.5 million, or 2.7 percentage points, to the increase in U.K. and Europe net sales. The increase in sales volume contributed $24.5 million, or 1.2 percentage points, to the increase in U.K. and Europe net sales.
Mexico sales generated in 2018 increased $35.1 million, or 2.6%, from Mexico sales generated in 2017 primarily because of an increase in net sales per pound and an increase in sales volume, partially offset by the impact of foreign currency translation. The increase in net sales per pound contributed $46.1 million, or 3.5 percentage points, to the increase in Mexico net sales. The increase in sales volume contributed $10.0 million, or 0.8 percentage points, to the increase in Mexico net sales. The impact of foreign currency translation partially offset the overall net sales increase by $21.0 million, or 1.6 percentage points.
Cost of sales incurred by our U.S. operations in 2018 increased $561.4 million, or 8.8%, from cost of sales incurred by our U.S. operations in 2017. Cost of sales primarily increased because of increased cost per pound sold, increased poultry sales volume, increased freight and storage costs, and increased grower costs. Increased cost per pound contributed $353.0 million mainly due to increased feed costs of $143.2 million and increased poultry sales volume contributed $78.2 million to the increase in cost of sales. The increased freight and storage costs contributed $77.2 million mainly due to driver shortages and the impact of new federal regulations. The increased grower costs contributed $51.8 million to the increase in cost of sales, mainly due to increased grower pay rates, feed delivery costs and utility costs. Other factors affecting U.S. cost of sales were individually immaterial.
Cost of sales incurred by the U.K. and Europe operations during 2018 increased $169.7 million, or 9.4%, from cost of sales incurred by the U.K. and Europe operations during 2017 primarily because of increased sales volume and a $74.3 million increase in feed ingredient and raw material costs. U.K. and Europe cost of sales also increased because of a $68.0 million increase in payroll costs resulting from an increase in minimum wage and a $25.1 million increase in freight and storage costs. Other factors affecting cost of sales were individually immaterial.
Cost of sales incurred by the Mexico operations during 2018 increased $67.0 million, or 5.9%, from cost of sales incurred by the Mexico operations during 2017 primarily because of increased sales volume and increased cost per pound with a $34.7 million increase in feed costs. Mexico cost of sales also increased because of a $14.1 million increase in grower costs, a $10.4 million increase in freight costs, a $4.0 million increase in natural gas costs, a $4.0 million increase in transportation costs and a $2.0 million increase in employee relations costs. Other factors affecting cost of sales were individually immaterial.
Our Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements include the accounts of our company and our majority owned subsidiaries. We eliminate all significant affiliate accounts and transactions upon consolidation.

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