****************************************************************
Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for November 21, 2001
Copyright © Brakke Consulting, Inc.
****************************************************************
Company Earnings Releases
> Patterson Dental Company reported that for the second quarter of fiscal 2002 ended October 27, Webster Veterinary Supply, acquired in July 2001, posted sales of $43.4 million, an increase of 11.3% from last year’s second quarter on a pro forma basis. (Business Wire)
> Smithfield Foods reported that fiscal 2002 second-quarter net income rose a record 36% to $60.5 million. Net income for the first six months, ended Oct. 28, totaled $117.4 million compared to $89.1 million in the first half of fiscal 2001. Sales increased 17% in the second quarter to $1.7 billion, reflecting higher pricing in the Meat Processing Group and sales of recently acquired companies. Sales of newly acquired companies contributed to 16% first-half sales growth to $3.3 billion. (Meating Place)
****************************************************************
The 2001 Brakke Flea & Heartworm Study will be available next week!
Each fall, Brakke Consulting updates its annual report on the US Flea Control and Heartworm Markets. The 2001 edition of the study will be available for shipping on Wednesday, November 28. In addition to updated sales figures for the major products, the study includes two new surveys of small animal veterinarians and retail pet stores, as well as a special section covering the effect of the September 11 terrorist attacks on veterinary income. The study also includes information on Fort Dodge’s new ProHeart 6 heartworm preventative, Novartis’ Capstar flea adulticide, the arrival of generic ivermectin heartworm preventatives, and a review of products in development.
Orders placed before December 15 will receive a discounted price of $3,250. After that time, the regular price of $4,000 will be charged. For more information or to pre-order your copy of the report, please contact Dr. Lynn Fondon at lfondon@brakkeconsulting.com or call (972) 243-4033.
****************************************************************
Company News Releases
> Premium Standard Farms, the nation’s second largest pork producer, committed to reduce nutrients produced from its waste handling system in Missouri by half. This reduction will allow the company to dramatically reduce land used for application. The commitment to reduce nutrients is part of a consent decree between the company, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Citizens Legal Environmental Action Network (CLEAN). The agreement settles all environmental claims against the company by EPA and CLEAN. (PRNewswire)
> Farms.com has acquired PigChamp, a leading pork-industry software company. PigChamp has more than 5,000 producers using the company’s knowledge software to manage information on more than 1.5 million sows. The software products were originally developed at the University of Minnesota. (Pork Alert)
> The European Union levied a record $752 million fine against eight chemical and pharmaceutical companies for fixing vitamin prices. The EU executive commission said the firms had been under investigation since 1999 for colluding to eliminate fair competition vitamin pills and overcharge consumers. The highest fine of $406 million was for Hoffmann-La Roche, which the EU fingered as the “prime mover and main beneficiary’’ of the cartel arrangements. The EU also fined BASF; Aventis; Solvay Pharmaceuticals; Merck; Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd; Esai Co Ltd.; and Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. (AP)
> NETHERLANDS Nutreco Holding NV slashed its 2001 profit forecast only a month after affirming it, citing a sharp downturn in salmon prices. Nutreco warned investors that earnings per share before goodwill in 2001 would rise only slightly from last year’s 2.96 euros. Net profit was likely to be about equal to the 90.9 million euros booked in 2000. The announcement follows Nutreco’s forecast in August that 2001 earnings per share before goodwill would grow about 20%. It repeated that outlook on October 18. (Reuters)
*******************************************************************
Animal Health News
> JAPAN A cow on the northern island of Hokkaido has been identified as having BSE, the second case of the disease in Japan. Japan is currently the only country in Asia where the disease is confirmed to have spread. The latest discovery of the disease comes just a month after Japanese officials had completed screening the nation’s cattle herd and declared
homegrown beef safe to eat. (AP)
*******************************************************************
Brakke Consulting Viewpoint
Brakke Consulting would like to wish all of you a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving. Take some extra time this year to be grateful for family, friends, health and prosperity.
Ron Brakke Richard Wilson Dr. Atsuo Hata
John Mannhaupt John Volk Richard Miles
Lynn Fondon John Short Robin Oakley
Roger Cummings Bob Reynolds Geoff Mahon
Karen Felsted Eli Thomssen
Bert Honsch
Ken Berkholtz
Jim Guenther
Dave Horn
********************************************************************
This electronic newsletter is the sole property of Brakke Consulting, Inc.
Any use of the contents herein should be approved by and appropriately attributed to Brakke Consulting, Inc.
For more information about Brakke Consulting’s services and syndicated studies, visit our website at www.brakkeconsulting.com.
If this email was forwarded to you and you would like to be added to the circulation list, please send an email to info@brakkeconsulting.com (mailto:info@brakkeconsulting.com) with “add” typed in the subject line, and your name, title, and company affiliation in the body of the message, and you will be added to the mailing list. If you would like for us to remove your name from the circulation list, please send an email to info@brakkeconsulting.com (mailto:info@brakkeconsulting.com) with “remove” and your name typed in the subject line.
English (United States) 
Portuguese