October 6, 2011

Monsanto reports corn seed products surpass competitors

Monsanto Co. said preliminary results show that its corn seed products are outperforming competitors, especially in areas with hot summer temperature.

The St. Louis-based seed company said its top seed brand, DeKalb, is showing "better than average performance relative to competitors" in areas hit by heat and stress this year. That would include much of the corn belt, as Illinois and Iowa both recorded their hottest summers in decades.

The company said in a slide presentation released Wednesday (Oct 5) that preliminary results "support the expectation" that Monsanto's premium SmartStax corn seed outyielded an earlier generation seed. The company cautioned, however, that it is too early in the harvest season for "significant data analysis."

Monsanto's SmartStax seed produced what some analysts saw as disappointing yields in its first year of widespread use in 2010, underperforming legacy products despite having a higher price. The company said last year that improved hybrids would lead to improved performance over time, and emphasized that it is best suited for areas of the northern US corn belt.

The company announced its fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday (Oct 5). Monsanto shares were recently up 3.1% to US$64.90 pre market. The stock is down 9.6% this year.