The firm said its Seara business and its U.S. beef division were its biggest challenges last year.

Brazilian meat processing company JBS closed fiscal year 2023 with US$ 198.9 million losses after posting US$ 2.99 billion profits the previous year.

JBS, which released its financial results on Tuesday, said Seara and the U.S. beef division represented the company's biggest challenges in 2023.

Net sales for the year as a whole remained practically stable compared to 2022, with a year-on-year increase of just 0.4%, to US$ 72.92 billion.

Revenue fell in all markets. Specifically, by 5.4% in the United States, 2.4% in Brazil and 1.8% in Australia. In turn, Seara's revenue was 0.6% lower than in 2022.

Seara is the JBS division in charge of processing animal protein by-products. It has 40 units for the production of flour and oils, including chicken, turkey and pork, and it exports to 15 countries.

JBS said it expects margins at its Seara unit in Brazil to reach double digits by early 2024, citing operational improvements implemented by management to strengthen the unit.

For its part, the gross operating result (Ebitda) fell by 51.7% from its 2022 level, to US$ 3.23 billion.

This drop reflects an excess global supply of proteins, as well as the high prices of cereals, mainly in the first half of the year. But in the U.S., lack of cattle supply was the main factor behind a negative EBITDA, Reuters said.

Meanwhile, the operating result fell to US$ 1,01 billion, 77.3% less than the previous year.

JBS closed 2023 with a net debt of US$15.3 billion, an increase of US$123 million compared to December 2022.

JBS's CEO, Gilberto Tomazoni, announced that the operational management measures adopted in 2023 and the improvement of the mid-term scenario allow them to face 2024 "on the path of a recovery of (our) results".