Archer Daniels Midland Q2 Profit Tops Estimates, But Revenues Miss

(RTTNews) - Grain processor Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) Tuesday said its second-quarter profit more than doubled from last year, citing recovery of U.S. grain export volumes. Results were also driven by ethanol demand, and continuing strong demand for oilseeds products. Earnings per share beat analysts' expectations, while revenues declined and missed view.

Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz stated, "Today, the crops in North America and Europe are developing nicely, so we are preparing for what could be very large harvests."

Oilseeds Processing operating profit for the quarter was $328 million, an increase of $18 million from the prior year, helped by continued good results from North American crushing.

Corn Processing operating profit increased $69 million to $277 million, on strong ethanol demand and steady sweetener volumes.

Agricultural Services operating profit was $203 million, up $122 million from a year earlier, driven by strong U.S. exports and significantly improved results from international merchandising.

"We capitalized on robust ethanol demand, a recovery of U.S. grain export volumes and continuing strong demand for oilseeds products," Woertz said.

For the second quarter, net earnings attributable to the company surged to $533 million or $0.81 per share from $223 million or $0.34 per share in the same quarter last year.

Adjusted earnings per share were $0.77, while the firm posted $0.46 per share in the previous year.

On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.73 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Adjusted earnings for the recent quarter excluded about $73 million in pretax LIFO income, or $0.07 per share, and $31 million in pretax costs related to restructuring or about $0.03 per share.

Quarterly revenues fell to $21.49 billion from $22.54 billion in the year-ago quarter. Wall Street analysts' revenue consensus was $22.84 billion for the quarter.

ADM is currently trading at $48.35, up 2.98 percent.