Profit before fees, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) reached R$648.1 million (US$116.91 million), an increase of 16.9% year on year and a record for the period.
In the same line, the net revenue for the third quarter was also a record for the period, totalling R$7.36 billion (US$1.33 billion), an increase of 43.4% boosted by sales from foreign markets.
Between the months of July and August, Minerva had a positive performance both in Brazil and in Athena’s South American operations. In September, the announcement of the Chinese embargo on Brazilian beef, motivated by two atypical cases of the disease “mad cow disease”, led to a monthly decline of 30% to 35% in the company’s revenue in Brazil, but which was offset by the performance of Athena in Uruguay and Argentina.
In the third quarter, Athena slaughter increased 44.1%, to 592,100 head, against an 11.2% drop in Minerva slaughter in Brazil, to 358,200 head. In sales volumes, Athena advanced 37% in the period, while the Brazilian unit fell by 16.8%.
Minerva is a major global supplier of wet salted and tanned (wet-blue) hides into the leather supply chain.
