Jan 1, 2006 12:00 PM

Pilgrim's Pride Corp reported net income of $74.7 million for the fourth fiscal quarter ended Oct 1, 2005, an increase of $9.1 million compared with earnings of $65.6 million in the 2004 fourth fiscal quarter. The Pittsburg TX-based poultry producer also tallied net sales of $1.483 billion for the fourth quarter of 2005, a slight decrease versus net sales of $1.486 billion for the same period a year ago.

For fiscal 2005, which ended Oct 1, 2005, Pilgrim's reported record net income of $265.0 million. The company had record net sales of $5.666 billion for fiscal 2005, an increase of $302.6 million compared with $5.364 billion for fiscal 2004.

“We are pleased to conclude and report our third consecutive year of record earnings and sales revenues,” said O B Goolsby, the firm's president and chief executive officer.