April 29 (Reuters) - U.S. pork processor Smithfield

Foods ( SFD ) on Tuesday posted higher first-quarter sales and

profit, helped by strong demand for its packaged meats and pork

businesses and cost-control efforts.

The Virginia-based company has been focusing on its

high-margin packaged meats business. It sells pork, ham and

sausages under brands including Smithfield, Eckrich and Nathan's

Famous.

Packaged meat sales rose 1.2% in the quarter ended March 30

from a year earlier. It is a major revenue generating segment

for Smithfield. Fresh pork sales increased 4.9%.

Smithfield, which went public in January, warned last month

that cautious consumer spending and higher raw material costs

were crimping profit in its packaged meats business.

The segment's operating profit declined 7% to $266 million,

while profit in its pork business slumped 25.7% to $82 million

in the reported quarter.

Smithfield has kept a tight lid on its expenses through

workforce reduction and exiting certain farm operations to

reduce its hog production business at a time of higher input

costs.

Its quarterly adjusted operating margin was 8.6%, up from

5.1% in the first quarter of 2024.

Smithfield posted a 9.5% rise in total sales to $3.77

billion in the quarter. It earned 58 cents per share in adjusted

profit from continuing operations, compared with 32 cents a year

earlier.

The company reaffirmed its annual sales forecast in the

low-to-mid-single-digit percentage range compared to last year,

and packaged meats adjusted operating profit of between $1.05

billion and $1.15 billion.

Tyson Foods ( TSN ), a rival U.S. meatpacker that sells

pork, chicken and beef, is set to report quarterly earnings on

May 5.