January 14, 2009

Cargill reported net earnings of US$1.19 billion in the 2009 second quarter ended November 30, up 25 percent from $954 million in the same period a year ago.

In the first half of the year, the company earned US$2.68 billion, up 43 percent from US$1.87 billion a year ago.

Cargill's investment in the fertiliser industry through its holdings in The Mosaic Company was a significant contributor to company results. Excluding earnings from that investment, Cargill's second-quarter results were moderately below the year-ago level and, in the first half, just under the same period a year ago.

Among Cargill's five business segments, results in the second quarter were led by its origination and processing segment and by its industrial segment, both of which increased earnings significantly from the second quarter a year ago.

Earnings in agriculture services decreased moderately. Results declined overall in the food ingredients and applications segment, with steady or improved performance in some food ingredient and meat units offset by weaker performance elsewhere.

The risk management and financial segment incurred a loss related to financial markets activities; at the same time, the segment's energy businesses jointly surpassed last year's second-quarter earnings by a significant margin.

During the second quarter, Cargill opened two major additions to its global processing capacity, including a rapeseed crush facility in Montoir, France. The Montoir plant, a joint venture with a French cooperative, will draw primarily on locally grown rapeseed to produce a variety of oil- and meal-based products for the French food, animal nutrition and biodiesel industries.