January 29, 2009
Pioneer profits up 23 percent on-year
Pioneer Hi-Bred, a subsidiary of chemical giant DuPont, saw its operating profits for 2008 rising 23 percent to US$1.1 billion from US$894 million in 2007.
Pioneer registered sales of about US$4 billion, and its revenues have doubled since 2002, and the agriculture and nutrition segment is expected to play an increasingly larger role in DuPont, said Jim Borel, DuPont vice president for agriculture and nutrition.
Pioneer expects to report market share gains for its seed products in North America, said Borel.
Pioneer currently holds 30 percent of the North American corn seed market and 24 percent of the soy seed market.
The company is hoping for growth in the soy market on its new "Y Series" of molecular-bred soy, and it has yet to see impact of the decline in corn and soy prices since last summer, said Borel.
