SAO PAULO, May 15 (Reuters) - Brazilian beef producer

Marfrig on Wednesday posted a 62.6 million reais ($12.19

million) net profit in the first quarter, reversing a 634

million reais loss from a year earlier, with revenues rising in

all divisions and financial expenses falling.

Marfrig reported net revenue, excluding assets in

South America it has agreed to sell, of 30.4 billion reais

($5.9 billion), up 3.8% year-on-year, driven by increases in all

its divisions - South America, North America and BRF.

Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation

and amortization (EBITDA) almost doubled to 2.65 billion reais,

with EBITDA margins rising more than 4 percentage points to

8.7%.

That was lower than the 2.87 billion reais expected by

Santander analysts. However, it was not immediately clear how

comparable the numbers were with other forecasts due to

adjustments in reporting after Marfrig's recent acquisitions.

"The significant (EBITDA) growth is the result of robust

performance by BRF, which compensated the profitability of the

North America division," it said in the earnings statement.

Financial expenses were almost 30% lower, which also helped

Marfrig to swing to the black in the quarter.

BRF, a Brazilian poultry producer of which Marfrig became

the controlling shareholder last year, released its results

earlier this month.

Marfrig said its margins in North America, where it operates

through the National Beef brand, fell 1.9 percentage point to

2.1%, hit by higher cattle prices amid strong demand and lower

supply.

Still, the company said its margins were "above market

average".

"Cattle offer should hit a low in 2027," Chief of the North

America division Tim Klein told reporters, adding costs are

expected to grow more in the region until then.

Marfrig's head for South America Rui Mendonca said the

company has not seen material impacts on its operations in

Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, which has been

hit by deadly floods. The firm owns four beef plants in the

state.

($1 = 5.1361 reais)