Smithfield Foods' profit more than tripled from $34.7 to
$152.6 million for the company’s fourth quarter.
Profits for hog production increased to $17 per head.
Smithfield is the largest hog producer outside of China and it is now owned by
a Chinese company, the WH Group Ltd.
The high hog prices squeezed margins in the hog-processing
sector of the company. Margins there were down to two per cent which translates
to $3 per hog.
So, how long until WH Group buys Maple Leaf Foods, returning the Schneider Corp. Smithfield sold to Maple Leaf to its portfolio?