Brazilian company JBS, known as the world's largest meat packer, saw a significant increase in net profit during the final quarter of 2024, despite challenges faced by its U.S. beef division due to high cattle prices.

The company reported a fourth-quarter profit of 2.412 billion reais ($423.57 million), a notable rise from the previous year's approximately 83 million reais. Their adjusted EBITDA, which indicates operating income, was 10.789 billion reais, surpassing analysts' predictions of 9.888 billion reais.

JBS CEO Gilberto Tomazoni mentioned that the U.S. beef business remained robust even amidst difficulties, such as cattle scarcity and rising prices, in the U.S. market, where a major portion of the company's sales originate. The division's EBITDA for the last quarter was 647.1 million reais, a significant improvement from a negative EBITDA of 488.5 million reais in the same period of 2023, with margins increasing to 1.7% from -1.6%.

Tomazoni highlighted the positive performance of Seara, the company's processed foods division in Brazil, noting a turnaround with high margins in the last two quarters. Seara's EBITDA reached 2.627 billion reais in the final quarter of 2024, marking a 292% rise from the previous year.

JBS reported a consolidated net revenue of 116.7 billion reais in the fourth quarter, up by 21% from the same period in the previous year. In 2024, the company achieved an adjusted EBITDA of 39 billion reais, with an adjusted margin of 9.4%, reflecting a 4.7 percentage point increase from the previous year, driven by enhanced profitability across all business segments.

The company stated that its net profit for the year 2024 amounted to 9.615 billion reais, turning around from a net loss of about 1 billion reais in 2023.