Shares in US agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland fell today (1 November) despite the company reporting higher net earnings in the first quarter of its financial year.
ADM saw its net earnings increase by a third to US$460m in the three months to the end of September.
The company’s earnings per share rose 26% to $0.68, although, its adjusted earnings per share, which excluded the impact of LIFO and other adjustments, was down 13% at $0.58.
However, its segment operating profit fell 6% to $699m with chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz indicating that the company’s oilseeds and corn operations were under pressure.
“The first quarter presented a difficult and challenging market environment,” Woertz said. “Margin conditions in our global oilseeds segment were generally weak and net corn costs were high. We offset some of these pressures with good management of our commodity positions and by capturing opportunities through our broad and diverse portfolio.”
Profits from ADM’s oilseeds and corn processing divisions fell. However, earnings from its agricultural services unit were higher.

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By GlobalDataShares in ADM were down 3.63% at $27.89 at 12.24 ET.