Agricore Reports $17 Million Loss

WINNIPEG - Jun 17/04 - SNS -- Agricore United reported a CDN $16.7 million loss on sales of $638.5 million during the three month period ending April 30, down from a loss of $22.2 million on sales of $516.2 million during the same period last year.

The loss lifted the company's loss for the first six months of the current fiscal year to $43 million on sales of $1,289.5 million, compared to a loss of $62.6 million on sales of $1,013.4 million during the same period in 2003.

Agricore lost money during the quarter even though its grain handle was up 57% from year earlier levels and average margins per ton handled had risen from CDN $17.41 per metric ton (MT) last year to $18.93 MT during the quarter.

Agricore United's sales of seed, crop nutrients, crop protection and related products for the six months ended April 30, 2004 increased modestly to $157 million compared to $155 million for the same period last year. Subsequently, high precipitation affected the timing of crop input activities and delayed sales of crop nutrients and crop protection products during May.

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