990816 Cargill Profits Slammed By Weak MarketAugust 14, 1999Minneapolis - Cargill Inc. said its fiscal 1999 operating earnings fell 53% to $220 million, hammered by ongoing weakness in world agricultural markets. Including a one-time gain from the sale of its international seed business to Monsanto Co., Cargill said it earned $597 million in the fiscal year ended May 31 on revenues of $46 billion. Cargill, which makes products ranging from corn sweetener to salt, earned $468 million in fiscal 1998 -- down 43% from fiscal 1997 -- on revenues of $51 billion. Cargill said it lost $182 million in the fourth quarter, compared with last year's fourth quarter profit of $219 million, largely because the company set aside money to pay for potential liability stemming from a lawsuit with Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. Pioneer, the leading U.S. seed breeder, sued Cargill last year, alleging that Cargill's seed business had misappropriated genetic materials. “On the operating side, our earnings and revenues continue to reflect the tough economic climate for agriculture that began in Asia two years ago and spread to other parts of the world,” Robert Lumpkins, Cargill's vice chairman and chief financial officer, said in a statement. “Commodity prices suffered their third straight year of decline due to the mismatch of weakened purchasing power in key markets and successive big global harvests -- a situation aggravated by trade barriers to agricultural goods in importing countries,” he said. Lumpkins said Cargill's businesses including steel, salt, swine production and oilseed processing were set back by a variety of difficult conditions. The company's meat, fertilizer and animal nutrition businesses were among several units that turned in strong performances. Cargill said it had restructured its financial businesses, which suffered losses last August when Russia defaulted on its debt and devalued the rouble, and profits improved in the second half.
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