Cargill earnings slump but food ingredients grow

Food ingredients were the largest contributors to the $489m in total net earnings posted for the second quarter.

Cargill spokesperson Lisa Clemens told FoodNavigator-USA.com that earnings from US and European ingredients units grew significantly thanks to lower raw material costs, reduced operating costs, and improved product mixes.

Mosaic woes​

But these improvements were not enough to make up for the drag on earnings arising from Cargill’s majority investment in the Mosaic Company.

Fertiliser and feed producer Mosaic announced at the end of November an almost 90 percent drop in earnings after phosphate prices crashed and demand for potash fell away.

Excluding the earnings from Mosaic, results were more moderately below the figures for the previous year.

Clemens said Cargill had an outstanding performance last year making the comparison with this year tough in the current economic climate.

Modest recovery ​

But moving forward Clemens said Cargill is undergoing a “modest recovery”​ and is in excellent financial shape. She said the company is prepared to invest.

Greg Page, Cargill CEO, said in a statement: “Through November, Cargill’s earnings were up by more than 50 percent from the preceding six months. ​

“The pickup in performance reflects our continued focus on holding down costs, tapping both developed and faster-growing emerging markets, and reinvesting our capital in the future growth of the company and our customers.”​

In December, Cargill bought the edible fats and oils business of Goodman Fielder, giving the company four new refining facilities in Australia and New Zealand. Cargill said this investment will act as a platform for growth in Australia and New Zealand, where it already has one oilseed refinery near Sydney.

As a private company, Cargill does not publish its full financial results, nor give a breakdown of performance across divisions.