US food giant Cargill ended its fiscal year with a fourth quarter in which its profits more than doubled, the company said today (17 August).

Cargill posted fourth-quarter net earnings of US$691m for the three months to the end of May, up from $327m 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 $2.07bn. Mosaic had dampened Cargill’s earnings in 2009.

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