Linda Thrane , Cargill (952) 742-6218
Cargill earns $295 million in first half of 2000 fiscal year
MINNEAPOLIS- Cargill today reported $295 million in earnings for the first half of the 2000 fiscal year -- a much improved performance from the same period a year ago when the company suffered financial trading losses stemming from the Russian currency devaluation and debt default. Earnings for the second quarter, which ended Nov. 30, were $145 million.
"Cargill's results were led by our financial businesses, which continued their strong recovery from a year ago, and our beef processing business," said Robert Lumpkins, Cargill's vice chairman and chief financial officer. "Other top performers included poultry processing, animal nutrition and cattle feeding, cocoa, and energy and sugar trading.
"The first half ended on an especially positive note when Sunny Fresh Foods, our egg processing subsidiary, won the 1999 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award to become the first food company ever to do so."
Slow recovery in Asian demand, combined with a fourth year of good global harvests and excess industry capacity, contributed to disappointing results for Cargill's grain and oilseeds businesses, he said.
"These have been tough times for everyone in agriculture," Lumpkins said. "We continue to invest the majority of the company's cash flow in developing new products and technologies, strengthening our services and lowering costs. And we've intensified our work to build support for more open markets and global food trade. We fully believe that those efforts will improve the long-term outlook for Cargill and our farm and food customers."
Cargill is an international marketer, processor and distributor of agricultural, food, financial and industrial products and services with some 82,000 employees in 59 countries.