Net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2021 were $347.3 million, an 11.5 percent increase compared to $311.5 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2020.
The Company reported net income of $12.2 million, or $0.25 per basic and diluted share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2021, compared to a net loss of $10.1 million, or $0.21 per basic and diluted share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2020.
Dolph Baker, chairman and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., stated, "Our results for the second quarter of fiscal 2021 reflect favorable demand trends for shell eggs, primarily at the retail level as consumers continue to prepare more meals at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Demand from food service customers has been less consistent and remains well below pre-pandemic levels, due in part to various restrictions on restaurants in place for different areas of the country.
"For the second quarter, total dozens sold were up 4.8 percent over the same period last year.
"We achieved the highest total dozens sold of any second quarter period at 273.7 million dozens, and our ratio of total dozens produced to total dozens sold was the highest of any quarterly period at 92.1 percent.
"We are especially grateful for the hard work and dedication of our employees who have worked to meet customer demand through extraordinary conditions.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our daily lives, our top priority is "the health and safety of our employees, and we remain vigilant in managing our operations in a safe manner.
"Market prices for eggs rose steadily in the early part of the second quarter and then leveled off for the remainder of the period.
"For example, the Urner-Barry Southeastern Regional Large Price ('UB southeastern large index') for conventional eggs for the second quarter of 2021 was $1.21 per dozen, up 3.5 percent compared to $1.17 for the second quarter of fiscal 2020, and our average sales price was up 5.8 percent compared with the prior-year second quarter.
"We did not experience a typical seasonal spike in market prices around Thanksgiving; the UB southeastern large index peaked on October 8, 2020, at $1.30 and then declined to $1.20 at quarter close.
"The overall supply of eggs reported by the United States Department of Agriculture ('USDA') declined in the second quarter of fiscal 2021 compared to the same period last year.
"The USDA also reported that the hatch from July through November 2020 decreased 1.5 percent as compared to the same period last year, and hen numbers reported by the USDA as of December 1, 2020, were 325.2 million, which represents 15.6 million fewer hens than a year ago.
"However, the decreased hen and egg supply has been offset by the decreased food service demand as noted above.
"Specialty eggs remain an important focus of our growth strategy, and we have worked hard to provide customers with a favorable product mix in line with current demand trends.
"For the second quarter of fiscal 2021, sales of specialty eggs totaled $134.1 million, accounting for 39.7 percent of our egg sales revenue, compared with $115.9 million, or 38.2 percent of egg sales revenue, in the second quarter of fiscal 2020.
"The higher specialty egg revenue reflects a 17.7 percent increase in specialty dozens sold.
"Demand for specialty eggs was positively affected by the higher conventional egg prices as compared to the same period in the prior year." ■
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