Sanderson Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) announced today that it
held its annual meeting of stockholders this morning in a virtual
format. In the formal business conducted at the meeting,
stockholders re-elected four Class B directors for terms expiring
at the 2024 annual meeting. Management also reported on the
Company’s performance during fiscal 2020 and provided an outlook
for fiscal 2021. Re-elected to three-year terms were John
Bierbusse, Retired Vice President and Manager of Research
Administration, A.G. Edwards; Mike Cockrell, Treasurer, Chief
Financial Officer and Chief Legal Officer of Sanderson Farms, Inc.;
Edith Kelly-Green, Partner, The KGR Group; and Suzanne T. Mestayer,
Owner and Managing Principal, ThirtyNorth Investments, LLC.
Other directors, whose terms continue to future years, are: Fred
L. Banks, Jr., David Barksdale, Lampkin Butts, Toni D. Cooley,
Beverly W. Hogan, Phil K. Livingston, Sonia Perez, Gail Jones
Pittman and Joe F. Sanderson, Jr.
In other action at the annual meeting, stockholders approved the
following items of business: in a non-binding advisory vote, the
compensation of the Company’s Named Executive Officers and the
ratification of the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as the
Company’s independent auditors for the fiscal year ending October
31, 2021. Stockholders rejected a stockholder proposal to request
that the Board of Directors report on the Company’s human rights
due diligence process.
Earlier in his remarks to stockholders concerning the Company’s
operations, Sanderson said, “Without question, fiscal 2020
was a year like no other for our company, our nation, and the
entire world as we faced the extraordinary challenges caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic, social and racial unrest, a global recession,
and ongoing poultry market volatility. We have faced these
challenges, however, with the same determination and resilience
instilled in us by our founders in 1947. Over the past year, our
board of directors and executive management team have risen to the
challenge to protect both the interests of our many stakeholders
and the long-term value of Sanderson Farms. We believe our core
value of respect for the rights and dignity of every human being;
our conservative financial management and our best-in-class
operational efficiency have provided a firm foundation to support
our business under extraordinary conditions.
“Despite the uncertain environment and fluctuating markets over
the past year, our operations performed well. Demand for chicken
products sold to retail grocery store customers surged higher at
the beginning of the pandemic and remained strong through the end
of the fiscal year, as more consumers have been preparing meals at
home. However, demand from our food service customers has remained
under pressure with the changing restrictions on restaurants and
food service establishments and the steep decline in the number of
consumers dining out during the pandemic. Our sales mix and
production for the year reflect these changing demand trends, but
we were pleased to report overall higher sales of $3.564 billion in
fiscal 2020 compared with $3.440 billion last year.
“As a critical part of the nation’s food supply, we are mindful
of our responsibility to do our best to maintain our production
even under extraordinary conditions. At the same time, we
understand our obligation to keep our people safe. Our number one
priority throughout the pandemic has been protecting the health and
safety of our employees, who have continued to produce and deliver
poultry products to our customers and contribute to a stable food
supply.
“Over the past year, we have witnessed significant social unrest
and racial injustice across the nation. For Sanderson Farms,
respect for the dignity and worth of every human being has been a
core value of the Company since our founding. We recognize that our
people are our most important asset, and we are committed to
providing our employees with a safe place to work, fair pay and
benefits, and equitable treatment both at work and in our
communities. We are proud of our record and policies related to
diversity, and we strive to be inclusive in every way.
“We are equally proud of our efforts over the past year to
manage our operations in an efficient and responsible manner under
extraordinary conditions. As we have continued to expand our
production, an integral part of our growth strategy has been an
emphasis on environmental responsibility. It is vitally important
to Sanderson Farms that we not only apply sustainability practices
in our own facilities, but also work in tandem with our local
communities to protect the environment.”
Sanderson concluded, “We have many reasons to be optimistic
about the year ahead for Sanderson Farms. We expect robust demand
for chicken products from retail grocery stores will continue, and
we are ready to meet this demand with the right mix of quality
products. While the COVID-19 pandemic will remain part of our
lives, we are hopeful that as more people are able to get a
vaccine, consumer confidence will improve, and restaurants and food
service operators can begin to resume regular schedules. Our
operations are performing well, and we are well positioned to
execute our growth strategy with the right mix of quality products
and a respected brand, supported by efficient and sustainable
operations, exceptional customer service and a strong financial
position. Above all, we have an incredible team across our
operations. We acknowledge the heroic work and perseverance of our
dedicated managers, employees, and contract producers who continue
to work hard to meet the demands of our valued customers. Together,
we will face both the challenges and opportunities before us with a
shared commitment to deliver greater value to our
shareholders.”
Sanderson Farms, Inc. is engaged in the production, processing,
marketing and distribution of fresh, frozen and minimally prepared
chicken. Its shares trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under
the symbol SAFM.
This press release includes forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking
statements are based on a number of assumptions about future events
and are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause actual results to differ materially from the views,
beliefs, projections and estimates expressed in such statements.
These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not
limited to those discussed under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2020, and
the following:
(1) Changes in the market price for the Company’s finished
products and feed grains, both of which may fluctuate substantially
and exhibit cyclical characteristics typically associated with
commodity markets.
(2) Changes in economic and business conditions, monetary and
fiscal policies or the amount of growth, stagnation or recession in
the global or U.S. economies, any of which may affect the value of
inventories, the collectability of accounts receivable or the
financial integrity of customers, and the ability of the end user
or consumer to afford protein.
(3) Changes in the political or economic climate, trade
policies, laws and regulations or the domestic poultry industry of
countries to which the Company or other companies in the poultry
industry ship product, and other changes that might limit the
Company’s or the industry’s access to foreign markets.
(4) Changes in laws, regulations, and other activities in
government agencies and similar organizations applicable to the
Company and the poultry industry and changes in laws, regulations
and other activities in government agencies and similar
organizations related to food safety.
(5) Various inventory risks due to changes in market conditions
including, but not limited to, the risk that market values of live
and processed poultry inventories might be lower than the cost of
such inventories, requiring a downward adjustment to record the
value of such inventories at the lower of cost or net realizable
value as required by generally accepted accounting principles.
(6) Changes in and effects of competition, which is significant
in all markets in which the Company competes, and the effectiveness
of marketing and advertising programs. The Company competes with
regional and national firms, some of which have greater financial
and marketing resources than the Company.
(7) Changes in accounting policies and practices adopted
voluntarily by the Company or required to be adopted by accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States.
(8) Disease outbreaks affecting the production, performance
and/or marketability of the Company’s poultry products, or the
contamination of its products.
(9) Changes in the availability and cost of labor and
growers.
(10) The loss of any of the Company’s major customers.
(11) Inclement weather that could hurt Company flocks or
otherwise adversely affect its operations, or changes in global
weather patterns that could affect the supply and price of feed
grains.
(12) Failure to respond to changing consumer preferences and
negative or competitive media campaigns.
(13) Failure to successfully and efficiently start up and run a
new plant or integrate any business the Company might acquire.
(14) Unfavorable results from currently pending litigation and
proceedings, or litigation and proceedings that could arise in the
future.
(15) Changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, which could
exacerbate any of the risks described above, and could include:
high absentee rates that have prevented and may continue to prevent
the Company from running some of its facilities at full capacity,
or could in the future cause facility closures; an inability of
contract poultry producers to manage their flocks; supply chain
disruptions for feed grains; further changes in customer orders due
to shifting consumer patterns; disruptions in logistics and the
distribution chain for the Company’s products; liquidity
challenges; and a continued or worsening decline in global
commercial activity, among other unfavorable conditions.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of Sanderson Farms.
Each such statement speaks only as of the day it was made. The
Company undertakes no obligation to update or to revise any
forward-looking statements. The factors described above cannot be
controlled by the Company. When used in this press release or in
the related conference call, the words “believes”, “estimates”,
“plans”, “expects”, “should”, “outlook”, and “anticipates” and
similar expressions as they relate to the Company or its management
are intended to identify forward‑looking statements. Examples of
forward-looking statements include statements of the Company’s
belief about its future growth plans, future demand for its
products, future prices for feed grains, future expenses, future
production levels, future earnings, economic conditions or other
industry conditions.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210218005825/en/
Mike Cockrell (601)
649-4030 Treasurer, Chief
Financial Officer &
Chief Legal Officer
Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ:SAFM)
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