Corn Products Q4 Net Income Up 83 Percent

Gordon: "Through challenging economic and weather conditions around the world, our businesses executed against plan, driving meaningful growth while investing for the future. At the same time, we continued the successful integration of the National Starch acquisition."

Feb 10 2012 --- Corn Products International, Inc. has reported significant increases in both reported and adjusted earnings per share in Q4.

"Corn Products delivered another very good quarter and closed out an outstanding year," said Ilene Gordon, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Through challenging economic and weather conditions around the world, our businesses executed against plan, driving meaningful growth while investing for the future. At the same time, we continued the successful integration of the National Starch acquisition."

"As we look forward to 2012, we believe that we are well positioned to deliver further top and bottom line growth while building on our strong geographic positions and expanding our product portfolio of starch and sweetener ingredients," Gordon added.

Fourth quarter diluted EPS rose 82 percent to $1.22 compared to $0.67 last year. The fourth quarter of 2011 included a $0.23 one-time non-cash post-retirement plan benefit, partially offset by $0.09 of business integration costs and $0.03 of restructuring charges. The fourth quarter of 2010 included a $0.23 per share charge related to the fair value mark-up of acquired inventory and $0.15 of acquisition costs. Excluding these items, adjusted EPS rose 6 percent from $1.05 to $1.11 in the quarter.

Full year 2011 diluted EPS rose 142 percent to $5.32 from $2.20 in the year-ago period. Full year 2011 EPS included a $0.23 one-time non-cash post-retirement plan benefit, $0.26 of business integration costs, $0.08 of restructuring charges, and a $0.75 gain as a result of a payment from the Government of Mexico pursuant to a settlement in the Company's favor regarding a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) dispute. Full year 2010 included $0.34 of acquisition costs, $0.29 of restructuring charges, $0.23 per share charge related to the fair value mark-up of acquired inventory, and $0.18 of bridge loan fees and acquisition-related financing costs. Excluding these items, adjusted EPS rose 44 percent from $3.24 in the year-ago period to $4.68 in 2011.

Reported EPS expectations for 2012 are in a range of $4.84 to $5.09. The guidance includes an anticipated $0.16 per share of acquisition integration and restructuring charges. Excluding those charges, adjusted EPS for 2012 is expected to be in a range of $5.00 to $5.25, an increase of 7 percent to 12 percent compared to 2011 adjusted EPS. 2012 is expected to show stronger comparisons in the second half of the year due to the timing of raw material hedges and the relative strength of the comparable periods.

Net sales are expected to reach $7 billion in 2012.

The effective tax rate for 2012 is estimated to be between 31 percent and 33 percent.

Capital expenditures in 2012 are anticipated to be between $275 million and $325 million and should support growth investments across the organization, particularly in North and South America and EMEA.