Cargill Profits Surge

NEW YORK - Jan 15/08 - SNS -- Cargill reported net earnings of U.S. $954 million in the second quarter ending November 30, compared to $662 million during the same three month period last year.

This lifted net earnings for the first half of the 2008 fiscal year to $1.87 billion, compared to $1.16 billion the first half of fiscal 2007.

Four of Cargill's five business segments increased earnings from the second quarter a year ago. The largest contribution came from the origination and processing segment, which sources, processes and distributes agricultural commodities and provides supply chain and risk management services to customers globally. The industrial segment, which benefited from global demand for fertilizers, also was up significantly. Two additional segments -- food ingredients and applications, and agriculture services -- posted improved performances. Results in the risk management and financial segment were moderately below the year-ago level.

Adding to its food ingredients capabilities, Cargill is finalizing the conversion of its sweetener facility in Manchester, U.K., to a wheat grind from corn. In Brazil, Cargill began producing compound and industrial chocolate for the domestic food industry from its new facility in Porto Ferreira in the state of São Paulo. In Spain, Cargill formed a joint venture with Hojiblanca, a major olive oil cooperative based in southern Spain near Málaga. In animal nutrition, Cargill started up its fifth feed mill in Vietnam in Long An province.

Cargill's agriculture services segment launched CargillAg.com, a Web site that offers U.S. producers a one-stop grain marketing resource. The site provides streaming grain and livestock futures market quotes, continuously updated cash bid prices at every elevator in Cargill AgHorizons' U.S. network, local weather and news, and exclusive grain market commentary by Cargill.

Cargill and Teijin Limited of Japan completed a joint venture in NatureWorks LLC. NatureWorks produces a family of biopolymers made from annually renewable resources with cost and performance that compete with petroleum-based packaging materials and fibers. Its proprietary polylactide biopolymer is marketed under the NatureWorks® polymer and Ingeo™ fibers brands.