Cargill Earnings Up 75% in Fourth Quarter

22/08/07 Cargill today reported net earnings of $628 million in the fiscal 2007 fourth quarter ended May 31, up 75 percent from $358 million in the same period a year ago. Results reflected increased earnings from operations as well as a decrease in income tax-related expenses.

For the full fiscal year, Cargill earned $2.34 billion, a 36 percent increase from $1.73 billion a year ago. Results reflected increased earnings from operations and decreased income tax-related expenses in the third and fourth quarters.

Revenues for the full year rose 17 percent to $88.3 billion. Cash flow from operations increased 19 percent to $4 billion.

“We are pleased to report Cargill’s fifth consecutive year of record earnings,” said Cargill Chairman Warren Staley. “The company’s business diversity and global reach, our solutions approach to serving customers, and our team’s ability to manage supply chains and price risk in fast-changing markets were responsible for today’s results. We also benefited from the accelerated pace of economic growth in many parts of the world.” Staley stepped down as Cargill’s chief executive officer on June 1 this year and will retire as chairman on Sept. 11, as previously announced.

In the fourth quarter, each of Cargill’s five business segments exceeded the prior year’s earnings performance. Among the five, the risk management and financial, industrial, and food ingredients and applications segments were the largest contributors to earnings.

In the full fiscal year, the risk management and financial, origination and processing, and industrial segments posted record results, and the food ingredients and applications segment was ahead of last year. Earnings in agriculture services nearly matched last year’s performance.

Throughout the 2007 fiscal year, Cargill reinvested the majority of its cash flow in food ingredient and supply chain capabilities aimed at better serving customers in food, agriculture and risk management. Among the larger investments were the acquisition of LNB International Feed, an animal nutrition company based in Europe; the addition of oilseed processing and refining capacity and corn sweetener capacity in China; the expansion of oilseed processing capacity in Argentina; the addition of biofuel production capacity in Europe and the United States; and the purchase of a flour milling and mixing business and a grain export terminal and inland elevator network in Canada.