BRF, one of the biggest producers of refrigerated and frozen protein foods in the world, has announced that its net income advanced 46% in 2015, to $3.1 billion. EBITDA came to R$5.7 billion, which represents significant growth of 21.9% over 2014. Net operating revenue amounted to R$31.7 billion, advancing 4.0% on 2014.
To ensure the execution of production- and energy-efficiency, automation and support projects, the company invested more than R$2 billion in 2015,” said Pedro Faria, Global CEO at BRF. “We maintained our strategy of capturing efficiency gains at our production units in order to streamline BRF and improve its agility,” explained Faria.
Data from Nielsen shows that BRF ended the year with market share of 63.9% in the ready-to-eat meals segment, with Sadia and Perdigão remaining the most valuable brands in Brazil’s food industry, according to a study by BrandAnalytics.
And the Sadia brand’s success is not limited to Brazil, but rather transcends borders. In the Middle East, for example, the second most important market served by BRF in the world, sales exceeded expectations, which led the company to accelerate its project to expand production capacity at its plant in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 70,000 to 100,000 tons/year. In addition to meeting the growing local demand, the expansion project also aims to serve new clients in North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
Also in the Middle East, BRF moved forward in its direct production distribution, which helped to minimize volatility in the prices practiced in the region. “In 2015, we announced the acquisition of part of the frozen foods distribution business of Qatar National Import and Export. The transaction is aligned with the company’s strategic globalization plan, which aims to tap local markets and to strengthen BRF brands by distributing and expanding its production portfolio around the globe,” said Faria.
