Tyson Foods 2000 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Tyson Foods, Inc. is first in the chicken industry. Year in and
year out we outperform the competition, in good times and
in bad. We are the best in the business, but our performance
in 2000 didn’t meet our expectations or our potential.
In a market already overflowing with meat proteins,
the industry continued to expand. The results were histori-
cally low prices that had a negative effect on earnings and
ultimately on our stock price. In recognition of the over-
s u pp l y, last fall we announced a 3 percent production cut.
U n f o rt u n a t e l y, the industry did not follow our lead, and
chicken supplies remained high.
Diluted earnings per share, excluding non-re c u rr i n g
items, were $0.74 compared to $1.20 last year. Reported sales
w e re $7.2 billion in 2000 compared to $7.4 billion in 1999.
R e p o rted diluted earnings per share were $0.67 compared to
$1.00 last year.
It was a tough year, but we had several accomplish-
ments worth noting. We paid down debt by $262 million.
We reduced inventory by 138 million pounds. We bought
back $69 million of our stock. And we did all this in a year
in which we took a $33 million charge on non-re c u rr i n g
items including a bad debt writeoff related to AmeriServe
and growout issues at Tyson de Mexico. We are confident
about the year ahead, and our management team is com-
mitted to improving performance.
STRENGTHS OF THE INDUSTRY LEADER
As I look forward and assess the Company’s strengths, I like
our position. Tyson is the best and biggest chicken company
in the world. We have great people, and we are ranked as one
of the best companies to work for in the food industry. We
have one of the most recognized brands in the United States
and the number one brand in the chicken industry. We have
leading market share in virtually every segment in which
we compete. We created and remain today the innovator of
value-added, furt h e r- p rocessed chicken pro ducts. We are the
low-cost pro d u c e r. We produce products of the highest
q u a lity. We deliver those products through a state-of-the-art
distribution system. We have the most modern and pro d u ctive
asset base in the industry. We have a strong cash flow.
We have a strong balance sheet that will take us through all
market cycles. All our team members are working toward
common goals, and we link management pay to perform-
ance through our balanced scorecard system. With these
3
Tyson shareholders: