010129 Cargill Q2 Aided By Better Commodity MarketsJanuary 19, 2001Minneapolis, MN - Cargill Inc, the largest privately held company in the United States, said that modest improvement in some key commodity markets helped boost profits 20% in its fiscal second quarter. The world's largest commodity trader said earnings in the second quarter, ended Nov. 30, reached $174 million compared with $145 million the same period of the previous year. Beef processing and financial businesses were the standouts in the second quarter, the company said. Its beef processing business, Excel, benefited from brisk consumer demand and adequate cattle supplies. Cargill would say only that its financial businesses “delivered a balanced performance across geographies.” Hardest hit during the quarter were Cargill's steel and phosphate fertilizer business, affected by unspecified “difficult market conditions worldwide.” The most significant change from the first quarter appeared to be improvement in the global grain processing business. “Actions taken to streamline operations, along with modest improvements in demand in several regions, also yielded improved results in Cargill's global grain and oilseeds businesses,” the company said in a statement. A company spokeswoman declined to give details of the actions. Cargill did not give a breakdown of its results by commodity or business sector. Two years ago, Cargill bought the grain unit of one of its main competitors in the grain trading and processing business, Continental Grain Co. In December, Cargill agreed to buy animal feed company Agribrands International Inc. Cargill said the deal was still expected to close in April. Cargill employs some 85,000 people in 60 countries. It markets, processes and distributes agricultural, food and other products.
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