In the 13 weeks to 30 June, the company’s net income was R$309.8 million (m), down from R$1,536.2m in the second quarter of 2016.

JBS’ net revenue for the period was R$41.7 billion (bn) down 4.6% from the same period last year.

Its gross profit for the second quarter was R$6.2bn, with gross margin growing from 12.1% in 2016 to 14.8% in 2017, while the EBITDA was R$3.8bn, up 29.9% on the second quarter of the previous year.

The company’s expenses rose due to currency fluctuations over the period.

Its Brazil-based Seara and Mercosul divisions both saw year-on-year drops in net revenue, with the former seeing a 6.1% decline and the latter a 14.2% drop, which CEO Wesley Batista described as “challenging”.

JBS was embroiled in the rotten meat scandal, which challenged Brazilian processors and led to a reshuffling of its management team, with Joesley Batista resigning from his position as chairman.

The company’s US and European operations experienced growth in net revenue over the period. JBS USA Beef (+5.9%), JBS USA Pork (+11.8%), Pilgrims Pride (+11%) and JBS Europe – Moy Park (+7.4%) all saw growth in the quarter.

Wesley Batista, global CEO of JBS, said: “Our operations performed very well during the second quarter of 2017. Seara posted an EBITDA improvement when compared with the first quarter, which shows that this business unit is turning back to historical levels in terms of operating results.​

“Beef operations in Brazil also registered a recovery in EBITDA in relation to the first quarter of this year, in spite of a more challenging scenario during the period. Our beef operations in the US, which include Australia and Canada, performed quite positively, clearly indicating an excellent perspective for upcoming periods. Poultry operations in North America (Pilgrim’s) registered an excellent performance, with an EBITDA margin of 18.7%. Finally, our pork operations in the US and Moy Park in Europe continued to deliver solid and consistent results.​

“JBS’ performance for the period is a clear demonstration of the quality of our business units around the globe and of the extraordinary team that we have.”​