Cargill Profits Jump

NEW YORK - Jan 9/13 - SNS -- Cargill reported net earnings of U.S. $409 million in the second quarter ending November 30 on revenue of $35.2 billion, compared to a net of $100 million during the same three-month period the previous fiscal year.

This lifted earnings to $1.38 billion on revenue of $69 billion, compared to earnings of $336 million the previous year.

Earnings rose in four of the company's five business segments in the second quarter, and were up in all five through the first six months.

The origination and processing segment was the largest contributor to Cargill's second-quarter results. The agriculture services segment also recorded increased earnings, due in part to improved operating results in animal nutrition. Earnings in the food ingredients and applications segment were down slightly from the year-ago quarter. The segment is made up of two groups of businesses: food ingredients and animal protein.

Cargill said the slippage was mostly related to excess capacity in the North American ethanol market and the return of profits in some product lines to more normalized levels. The animal protein businesses posted a combined profit compared with a loss last year when processing margins in the U.S. beef industry were sharply negative.

The risk management and financial segment turned around last year's second-quarter loss, the latter a period when financial markets were stressed by debt turmoil in the U.S. and Europe. Earnings rose in Cargill's industrial segment, although deicing salt production volume lagged typical levels due to the inventory carryover from last year's mild North American winter.