JBS, the Brazilian meat giant, has reported mixed first-quarter results, with the company’s net income and sales rising – but its EBITDA down on lower profits from its US chicken unit. The company, which owns JBS Swift Australia, this week booked a 47.9% increase in net income to BRL 147 million for the three months to the end of March. JBS’s operating income more than doubled at BRL 172.2 million (US$107.3m) as the company benefited from higher sales and lower finance costs. The... ...Read more »

Meat giant JBS, owner of Australia’s JBS Swift and Rockdale, has rebuffed allegations that it illegally purchased cattle in the state of Acre, Brazil. Brazilian prosecutors have brought a civil lawsuit against the company, alleging that over the last four years, JBS purchased cattle from land in the Amazon that was illegally deforested and from farms linked to slavery. However, JBS has insisted that all cattle purchased from Acre comply with its commitment to the mandates of the Brazilian Environmental... ...Read more »

The lockout of workers at the Swift meatworks in Brooklyn, Victoria, has entered its second month, after NUW members again voted to reject the company’s 2% annual pay offer. One hundred and forty cold storage workers at Swift Australia, Brooklyn had agreed to taking industrial action on December 3rd last year, following a wage offer they described as ‘well below the cost of living.’ “This pay offer will send workers and their families backwards at a time when workers are facing... ...Read more »

US food group Sara Lee is understood to have rejected a takeover offer for its US business from Brazilian meat giant JBS, who also own Swift Australia, due to a disagreement over price. Sara Lee’s management has been in talks to sell the business to JBS for a few months, Bloomberg reported today (20 December). However, the bakery giant has turned down an offer from JBS, deeming it “too low”. It is understood the bid was less than Sara Lee’s intraday high of $17.62 on 17 December,... ...Read more »

Tasmanian Premier David Bartlett yesterday advised of a $12 million rescue package that will “save every job at the King Island abattoir and ensure the long-term future of the renowned beef brand”. Mr Bartlett said the finalisation of the deal had been a long time coming due to a number of complexities. “I am particularly pleased that we have been able to deliver this community some good news before Christmas,” he said. “My goal was to save every single job and that... ...Read more »