ConAgra Foods, the US food group, has seen third-quarter profits jump by almost 37% as earnings from its soon-to-be-sold commodity trading business more than tripled.
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The company booked operating profit of US$562m – a rise of 36.8% – for the three months to 24 February. Revenue climbed 20.9% to $3.5bn.
Profits from ConAgra’s trading and merchandising unit reached $198.9m, up from $62.3m a year earlier.
Nevertheless, ConAgra said today (27 March) it wants to focus on its consumer foods business and has agreed to the sell the commodity trading activities for $2.1bn.
Earnings from ConAgra’s consumer food brands fell 8.1% to $206.6m due to rising input costs. Sales, however, rose 8% to $1.8bn thanks to rising volumes and price hikes.

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By GlobalDataProfits from ConAgra’s food and ingredients business climbed by almost a third, with sales rising by 23.5% to pass the $1bn mark for the quarter.
CEO Gary Rodkin said: “Our food and ingredients segment had terrific results, and our consumer Foods segment demonstrated top-line progress.”