Decatur / IL. (adm) Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) reported financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2011. The company reported net earnings for the quarter of 80 million USD or 0,12 USD per share, both down 89 percent from the same period one year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share – which excludes the impact of LIFO, PHA-related impairment charges and other adjustments – was 0,51 USD per share, 58 percent lower than the prior year quarter. Segment operating profit, after excluding the impact of the PHA-related charges, was 648 million USD, down 52 percent from the record quarter a year ago.
«It was a tough quarter», said ADM Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz. «The operating environment was challenging. Ongoing weakness in global oilseeds margins, lower results in corn and poor international merchandising results hurt our second quarter profits. We remain optimistic about the long-term fundamentals of our business and the growing earnings power of our company», added Woertz. «We continue to execute our plan to drive shareholder value: prioritizing capital projects, implementing productivity measures and returning capital to shareholders through increased dividends and share buybacks».
Second Quarter 2012 Highlights:
- Adjusted EPS of 0,51 USD excludes a LIFO charge of 0,06 USD and asset impairment costs of 0,33 USD.
- Oilseeds Processing profit declined 72 million USD amid continued weakness in the global margin environment.
- Corn Processing results decreased 532 million USD, including 339 million USD in asset impairment charges related to the PHA renewable plastic production facility. Net corn costs for the quarter were high, partly due to economic hedging benefits recognized in the prior year.
- Agricultural Services profit decreased 268 million USD on poor international merchandising results and lower U.S. export volumes.
- Other businesses´ results decreased by 181 million USD, primarily due to a negative mark-to-market timing effect in cocoa processing. Mark-to-market losses this quarter were 127 million USD or approximately 0,13 USD per share.
- ADM returned 304 million USD to shareholders in the quarter, including buying back 6,5 million shares and increasing our quarterly dividend to 0,175 USD per share from 0,16 USD.
The complete press release «ADM Reports Second Quarter 2012 Earnings of 80 Million USD or 0,12 USD per Share» is available on ADM´s web server.
