Tyson Reports Fourth Quarter Loss

NEW YORK - Nov 13/06 - SNS -- Tyson Foods, Inc. ended the fiscal year on a sour note, reporting a fourth quarter loss of U.S. $56 million on sales of $6,471 million for the period ending September 30, compared to a profit of $117 on sales of $6,495 million during the same three month period last year.

This lifted the company's 3006 fiscal year loss to $196 million on sales of $25,559 million, compared to a profit of $372 million on sales of $26,014 million during the previous fiscal year.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, the Company recorded pretax charges totaling $23 million associated with the Company's previously announced $200 million cost reduction initiative, plant closing costs and other business consolidation efforts. These charges included severance expenses, product rationalization costs and other asset impairment related expenses. The Company previously recorded plant closing costs of $59 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2006.

"The best thing I can say about fiscal 2006 is, it's over," said Richard L. Bond, president and chief executive officer. "For most of the year, we were plagued by supply and demand imbalance as well as export market disruptions in our chicken and beef segments."

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