Source:  Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 8/27/09

At Smithfield Foods' annual shareholders' meeting in Williamsburg, Va., CEO C. Larry Pope saw continued tough times for hog production but "very good" news coming out of the company's pork and packaged meat business, according to a Reuters report.

Pope told Reuters that the hog unit will likely lose money for the rest of fiscal 2010, ending in early May. However, he expects to report "a very good number" in quarterly reports for the pork and packaged meats unit. He's keeping an eye on news about H1N1 as the flu season gets underway, and anticipates that media reports calling it "swine flu" would have a negative effect on pork results.

The company's efforts to restructure and pay down debt have benefitted the company, Pope said. "As of today, this company can write a check for $1 billion and the check will clear," Reuters quotes him as saying.

Smithfield shareholders rejected a proposal by PETA that the company set a timeline for raising sows in larger pens. Pope told the meeting's attendees that Smithfield intends to continue to move toward larger housing for the animals, but that the company's finances had to improve first.

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