SAO PAULO (Reuters) -JBS, the world's largest meatpacker, on Tuesday reported a net profit of 2.92 billion reais ($521 million) in the first quarter, in line with analysts' estimates of a 2.92 billion real net profit and a nearly 78% annual increase.

In a financial statement, the company said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, a measure of operating income known as EBITDA, came in at 8.92 billion reais, above the 8.77 billion reais forecast by analysts.

The company's net profit rose 21.2% from the fourth quarter, driven by the poultry and pork businesses in Brazil and in the United States.

JBS said it had a strong quarter in a seasonally weaker period of the year, when winter time affects consumption in the Northern Hemisphere and sales tend to slow compared with the end-of-year holiday weeks.

JBS' Seara processed foods division in Brazil and its U.S.-controlled Pilgrim's Pride, which processes chicken, recorded their best EBITDA margins in history for the period, the company said.

JBS reported net revenue of 114.1 billion reais in the first quarter, 28% higher compared to the same quarter last year and 2.2% smaller than in the fourth quarter.

"Quarter after quarter, our results prove that we made the right choices in building and managing our global multi-protein platform," Gilberto Tomazoni, global CEO of JBS, said in a statement.