Agricore United Reports $12.7M Loss

WINNIPEG - Mar 18/04 - SNS -- Agricore United reported a $12.7 million of 31 cent per share loss for the quarter ending January 31, a good improvement on the net loss of $19.6 million or $0.46 per share for the same quarter last year.

Sales during the quarter were up sharply over last year, jumping from $497 million in the 2002-03fiscal year to $651 million this year. However, gross profits were not up as sharply, advancing from $72.9 million to $80.9 million this year. The company good progress in trimming operating costs, which inched down from $70.94 million last year to $70.15 million during the second quarter of this fiscal year.

"As we expected at the end of the 2003 fiscal year, grain handling picked up significantly despite a slower than expected start to the Canadian Wheat Board's export program and the outlook for grain movement through the summer is bullish," says Brian Hayward, Chief Executive Officer.

"Even with higher grain shipments and sustained sales activity for Crop Production Services, our operating, general and administrative costs remained flat in the quarter compared to last year." Hayward notes that while crop production services and grain handling are improving, the same cannot be said for the livestock industry and the potential impact on the company's relatively smaller livestock feed business.

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