Smithfield Foods divests its European operations

Smithfield Foods has announced the carve out of its European operations to further accelerate what it sees as growth opportunities of both businesses.

Smithfield Foods and Morliny Foods, previously known as Smithfield Europe, will remain subsidiaries of WH Group. WH Group is the largest pork company in the world with the top market share in China, the United States and markets in Europe.

Over the last decade, Smithfield Foods has transformed its North American business by growing and significantly expanding the profit contribution from its higher-margin packaged meats segment while improving the cost structure and commodity market exposure in its fresh pork and hog production segments.

Smithfield expects to continue to drive North American growth by building packaged meats share through product innovation, leveraging a well-recognised brand portfolio that spans consumer price points.

Smithfield Foods’ North American presence includes a majority stake in Altosano, previously known as Granjas Carroll de México, a joint venture in Mexico and one of the nation’s leading suppliers of fresh pork.

Morliny Foods has adopted a region-specific growth strategy to address a more fragmented European market with different market dynamics than in North America. The business supplies fresh pork and poultry and packaged meats across the continent from operations in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Spain and the UK.

“It’s the right time to establish our North American and European operations as stand-alone businesses empowered to execute distinct strategies addressing different market environments and opportunities,” said Shane Smith, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods. “In doing so, we provide our respective management teams with increased decision-making agility, optimising the performance and prospects for each business.”

“We will benefit by being a nimbler competitor with a focused strategy addressing the European food market,” said Luis Cerdan, CEO of Morliny Foods. “We are confident this step will accelerate growth opportunities for our people and our company.”

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