Cargill Reports $168 Million Net

NEW YORK - Aug 18/06 - SNS -- Cargill reported net earnings of U.S. $168 million in the 2006 fourth quarter ended May 31, including a one-time, $190 million noncash charge to Cargill's earnings that is the company's share of a restructuring charge taken by The Mosaic Company related to its phosphate fertilizer business. Cargill is the majority shareholder in Mosaic.

Excluding the noncash charge, Cargill's fourth-quarter earnings were $358 million compared with $230 million in the same period a year ago.

For the 2006 fiscal year, Cargill earned $1.54 billion, including the noncash charge described above. Fiscal 2005 earnings of $2.1 billion also included a special item: a $578 million noncash net gain related to the formation of Mosaic in the second quarter of that year.

Excluding the special items in both years, Cargill earned a record $1.73 billion in fiscal 2006, up 13% from $1.53 billion a year ago. Revenues for the full year rose 6% to $75.2 billion. Cash flow from operations increased 4% to $3.3 billion.