Smithfield Foods Company Earnings Weak, but Who Cares?

Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) reported fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The food processing firm reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.21 on revenues of $3.3 billion. In the same period a year ago, Smithfield reported adjusted EPS of $0.49 on revenue of $3.21 billion. Fourth-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.43 and $3.27 billion in revenue.

For the full year, Smithfield reported adjusted EPS of $1.80, compared with EPS of $2.59 in the same period a year ago. The consensus estimate called for EPS of $2.00.

None of this really matters, of course, given that Smithfield has agreed to be acquired by China's Shuanghui International Holdings for $7.1 billion, including debt ($34 per share). The transaction is expected to close in the last half of this year, following review by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), among many others. Nothing else matters now.

Shares are down fractionally in premarket trading this morning, at $32.81, in a 52-week range of $17.55 to $33.96.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, China, Earnings, Food Tagged: SFD