Sanderson Farms Reports $19 Million Profit

LAUREL - Feb 24/04 - SNS -- Sanderson Farms, Inc. reported a $19 million net income, of $1.55 per diluted share, on sales of $226.4 million during its first quarter of fiscal 2004, which ended January 31, 2004.

The results are a solid improvement on the net income of $5.3 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, on sales of $184 million during the first quarter of the 2003 fiscal year.

The company said market prices for all poultry products were appreciably higher during the first quarter than in the prior-year period. As measured by a simple average of the Georgia dock price for whole chickens, values increased approximately 11.3% in the Company's first fiscal quarter compared with the same period in 2003.

Boneless breast meat prices during the quarter were approximately 17.9% higher than the prior-year period and bulk leg quarter prices increased approximately 67.7% during the quarter. Wing prices averaged 99.7 cents per pound, up 89.9% from the average of 52.5 cents per pound during the first quarter of fiscal 2003.

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