000442 Cargill's Third Quarter Profits SlipApril 22, 2000Minneapolis, MN - Agribusiness giant Cargill Inc., the nation's largest privately held company, reported net earnings of $191 million for the third quarter ended Feb. 29, just under year-ago profits of $192 million. Cargill said its grain and oilseeds business suffered for a third straight year from depressed demand stemming from the 1997 Asian economic crisis coupled with large global supplies and ongoing industry overcapacity. “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,” Robert Lumpkins, Cargill's vice chairman and chief financial officer, said in a statement. Earnings for the first nine months of fiscal 2000 were $486 million, compared with year-ago earnings of $779 million, which included a one-time gain from the sale of the company's international seed business. Cargill, an international marketer, processor and distributor of agricultural, food, financial and industrial products, said results were led by its financial and beef-processing businesses. Other top performers were poultry and egg processing, cattle feeding, energy and sugar trading and cocoa, the company said. Cargill, which has 82,000 employees in 59 countries, said it is 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.”
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