The company is sharing record profits with plant employees, who tell the Daily Herald that the annual event means a lot and helps around the holidays.

The Austin-based company reports earnings for refrigerated foods were down 44 percent in the first quarter. Hormel says leaner profit margins for pork were a big ingredient in that. CEO and President Jeff Ettinger expects slowly improving results this year.

Strong sales of Spam and Jennie-O products helped the Austin-based meat producer meet Wall Street expectations. Hormel's third quarter earnings rose to $111.2 million, or 41 cents per share, in the third quarter ended on July 29 compared to $98.5 million, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier.

The Austin-based food maker says strong demand for its Jennie-O products and Spam helped boost sales in the quarter that ended in April.

Workers at the Hormel Foods plant in Austin are being screened for tuberculosis after one employee there was identified with the contagious disease, KAAL TV reports. Tuberculosis is a health issue for the workers at the plant, but not a threat to food safety, the station reports.

Chairman, President and CEO of Hormel Foods Corporation, Jeffrey Ettinger, was among company leaders to ring The Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday to mark the 75th anniversary of the Spam brand. The Temptations will headline a birthday bash in Austin on July 28th.