BRF S.A.

BRF S.A.

Type	Sociedade Anônima
Traded as	BM&F Bovespa: BRFS3 NYSE: BRFS
Industry	Food processing
Founded	2009
Headquarters	Brazil
Key people	Abilio Diniz, (Chairman) Pedro Faria, (CEO)
Products	Food and beverage
Revenue	US$ 13.0 billion (2013)[1]
Net income	US$ 465.5 million (2013)[1]
Number of employees	105,000
Website	www.brf-br.com

BRF, formerly Brasil Foods S.A. (BM&FBovespa: BRFS3 / NYSE: BRFS), is a Brazilian food conglomerate created from the merger of Sadia S.A. into Perdigão S.A.For over 80 years, since the inauguration of its first plant in Videira, Santa Catarina, it has been producing animal proteins, processed foods, margarines, pastas, frozen pizzas and vegetables.

The company was listed by Forbes magazine among the 100 most innovative in the world for two years running, 2012 and 2013, taking 39th place in the world.

The group’s two largest industrial units are located in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais and in Rio Verde, Goiás. In 2015, BRF processed 1.7 billion birds and 10 million head of hog and cattle.^[2]

The all-stock merger transaction was approved by Brazil's antitrust authority CADE on July 13, 2011, after the imposition of restrictions that reduced the size of the deal.

A study conducted by the Brazilian magazine IstoÉ Dinheiro and Millward Brown Vermeer ranked Sadia and Perdigão one of the 50 most valuable brands in Brazil, in 3rd and 17th place, respectively. The same survey showed that Sadia is the country’s only food brand to figure among the top ten most valuable brands of the decade.

History

The negotiations for the acquisition of Sadia by Perdigão began in 2008, led by then CEO José Antonio do Prado Fay. The conclusion of the transaction, which was announced officially in May 2009, effectively created BRF, which continued under Fay’s leadership.

In October 2011, BRF acquired two companies in Argentina, Avex (meatpacker) and Dánica (Argentina’s leading margarine producer), for 150 million dollars.^[3] One year later, in Abu Dhabi, the new company acquired a 49% interest in the food producer Federal Foods for 36 million dollars.

In April 2013, the entrepreneur Abilio Diniz was elected the new chairman of the board of directors of BRF^[4] and began to advance a plan of internal changes. After four months, Claudio Galeazzi replaced José Antonio do Prado Fay as CEO. Galeazzi would replicate with Abilio Diniz a partnership lasting years, similar to the ones they had at other companies previously led by Diniz (e.g., Pão de Açúcar Group).

Another interest in Federal Foods was acquired for 27.8 million dollars in April 2014.^[5] In August of the same year, BRF acquired the frozen food distributor Alyasra Food Company, in Kuwait, for 160 million dollars. With these acquisitions, the company expanded its operations in the Middle East and advanced its international expansion plan.

Present in many countries, 50.2% of BRF’s revenue came from export sales in 2015.^[2]

In September 2014, BRF sold its dairy assets to the French group Lactalis for 1.8 billion reais, which included the brands Batavo, Cotochés and Elegê. According to BRF, the decision to sell the dairy division assets was due to their weak financial return.^[6][7]

Also in September 2014, Claudio Galeazzi announced he would step down as CEO to be replaced by Pedro Faria, who assumed the office in January 2015.

Also in 2015, BRF became the first Brazilian company to invest in the issue of Green Bonds, which are securities whose proceeds must be invested in environmentally sustainable projects.

In alignment with BRF’s strategic globalization plan, SATS BRF was created in Singapore and, in China, it launched Sadia with a snack line. In the Middle East, BRF acquired an interest in Qatar National Import and Export (QNIE). In Argentina, it acquired, through its subsidiaries Avex and Quick Foods, the traditional brands Vieníssima (sausages), Goodmark (hamburgers), Manty and Delícia (margarine).^[8]

In Brazil, Perdigão resumed its operations in strategic categories (e.g., ham and sausage) after three years during which it refrained from such activities due to the settlement reached with Brazil's antitrust authority CADE in connection with the merger of Sadia and Perdigão.

Investors

A publicly traded company since 1980, BRF has been listed on the Novo Mercado segment of the São Paulo Stock Exchange (BM&FBovespa) since 2006, under the ticker BRFS3. The stock is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BRFS – Level III ADR).

BRF is a component of the world’s leading sustainability indexes, which confirms the connection between social and environmental practices, market reputation and business performance. Since 2005, it has been a component of the Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) of the BM&FBovespa, and it is the only food company in the index. In 2015, BRF became the first Brazilian company to invest in the issue of Green Bonds, which are securities whose proceeds must be invested in environmentally sustainable projects.

BRF is also the only Brazilian company in the industry to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index – Emerging Markets (DJSI), for the fourth straight year. In 2015, it was one of the ten companies chosen to be part of the Euronext-Vigeo EM 70, a European stock index that tracks the performance of the 70 listed companies in developing countries with the highest performances in corporate responsibility.

Corporate structure

In February 2016, the company conducted a review of its corporate structure, which is now divided as follows:

i) Six global regions, namely Latam, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Brazil (the latter, because of its complexity, now has two general managers, responsible for Sales & Marketing and Planning & Distribution.

ii) Five vice-presidents: 1. Finance & Management; 2. People; 3. Marketing, Innovation & Quality; 4. Supply Chain; 5. Legal & Corporate Relations.^[9]

In Brazil, BRF has 35 plants and 20 distribution centers. Outside of Brazil, it operates eight industrial units in Argentina, one in the United Kingdom, four in Thailand and one in the United Arab Emirates, as well as over 20 distribution centers.The industrial facility in Abu Dhabi in the Middle East was inaugurated in 2014 and, after one year in operation, is slated to expand its annual production capacity from 70,000 to 100,000 tons by the end of 2016.^[10]

The company's main competitors are: JBS, Marfrig, Tyson Foods, and Bunge.

References

2. "Annual Report 2015".
3. "Brasil Foods buys two Argentine companies". Reuters. 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
4. "Brasil Foods Names Diniz Chairman to Lead Growth".
5. "BRF Acquires More Shares in Federal Foods". The Poultry Site. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
6. Magalhaes, Luciana (2014-09-04). "Brazil's BRF to Sell Dairy Assets to Lactalis". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
7. "Brazil regulator clears France's Lactalis to buy BRF dairy units". Reuters. 2015-04-22. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
8. "BRF outlines expansion plans for Argentina business". www.just-food.com. 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
9. "CORPORATE STRUCTURE". BRF Brasil. 2015-01-05. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
10. "BRF expands food production at its Abu Dhabi plant". New Food Magazine. 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2016-06-14.