Cargill profit falls 66%

US-based agribusiness company Cargill has reported a 66% drop in profit to $236m for the fiscal 2012 first quarter, compared with $693m in the same period a year ago.

Cargill chairman and CEO Greg Page said the change in Cargill’s results is due in large part to the persistently high degree of uncertainty in the global economic environment, which injected turbulence into commodity markets and limited prudent trading opportunities.

"Other factors included acquisition-related expenses and outlays related to the flooding on US inland waterways, which increased freight costs and required measures to be put in place to protect customer supply chains," Page added.

Revenues in the quarter that ended August 31 rose by 34% to $34.6bn, compared with the same quarter last year.

Among the company’s business segments, profit rose in agriculture services due to crop input sales, while results in the origination and processing segment decreased due to adverse weather, reductions in projected grain supplies and the weakening world economy.

In the food ingredients and applications segment, the food ingredient businesses on a combined basis nearly matched last year’s record-high performance, the company said.