Cargill ends fiscal year with doubling in Q4 profits

Posted by Nicole Eckersley on 19th August 2010

US food and edible oils giant Cargill ended its fiscal year with a fourth quarter in which its profits more than doubled, the company announced this week.

Cargill posted fourth-quarter net earnings of US$691 million for the three months to the end of May, up from $327 million a year ago.

Excluding the results from fertilizer firm The Mosaic Co., in which Cargill owns a majority stake, fourth-quarter profits were up 87%.

For the full fiscal year, Cargill’s profits dropped 22% to $3.33bn. Excluding Mosaic, Cargill’s earnings rose 14% to $2.07 billion. Mosaic had dampened Cargill’s earnings in 2009.

Fourth-quarter revenues rose 11% to $28.1 billion, although annual sales fell 6% to $107.9 million.

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