Linda Thrane , Cargill (952) 742-6218
Cargill earns $191 million in 1999-00 third quarter
MINNEAPOLIS--Cargill today reported $191 million in earnings for the third quarter ended Feb. 29, compared with $192 million a year ago. That brought earnings for the first nine months of fiscal 2000 to $486 million, compared with last year's $779 million, which included a onetime gain from the sale of the company's international seed business.
"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 vice chairman and chief financial officer. Other top performers included poultry and egg processing, cattle feeding, energy and sugar trading and cocoa.
Lumpkins said that for the third straight year Cargill's grain and oilseeds businesses suffered from depressed demand stemming from the 1997 Asian economic crisis that, coupled with large global supplies and ongoing industry overcapacity, has taken a toll on the agriculture and food industry.
"We look forward to a recovery in global demand over time, but we're also taking steps now to build stronger relationships with our farm and food customers that create more value for all of us," he said.
Lumpkins also said that Cargill is involved in efforts to revive demand for farm and food products by working to expand agricultural trade. "The U.S. Congress is expected to vote soon on making normal trading relations with China permanent," he said. "A favorable vote would let the world's most populous country become a much larger customer for farmers."
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. In 1999, Cargill's egg-processing subsidiary, Sunny Fresh Foods, became the first food company to win the Malcolm Baldrige national quality award.