Monsanto profit doubles on weed killer, corn seed
Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed producer, said fiscal second-quarter profit more than doubled as U.S. farmers bought more Roundup weed killer and genetically modified corn seed.
The Creve Coeur-based company is taking market share from rivals such as DuPont Co. by spending more to develop new varieties of corn, soybean and cotton seeds. Higher prices will help double gross profit from Roundup this year, Chief Executive Hugh Grant said on a conference call.
Net income in the three months through February rose to $1.13 billion, or $2.02 a share, from $543 million, or 98 cents, a year earlier. That surpassed Thomson Financial’s prediction of $1.72 a share.
The second-quarter earnings include a 23-cent gain from the settlement of Monsanto’s claims related to Solutia Inc.’s emergence from bankruptcy.
Sales were boosted by global demand for Roundup and genetically modified corn seeds in the U.S bad credit payday loan. and Brazil, Monsanto said.
"Between now and 2012, I think we’re the only company in agriculture that can point to consistent growth irrespective of swings in commodity prices, fluctuations in planted acres or the usual ups and downs in the popularity of things like ethanol," Grant said.
Monsanto said it won an additional 3 to 5 percentage points of the U.S. corn-seed market this year, confirming earlier forecasts.
Monsanto last year surpassed DuPont’s Pioneer unit as the largest producer, with 32 percent of U.S. corn-seed sales. DuPont had 30 percent and has pledged to hold its share steady this year. Monsanto said its share this year will be 35 percent to 37 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.