DECATUR, Ill. (AP) — Archer Daniels Midland Co. said Tuesday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit tumbled 83 percent as its results were pressured by higher corn costs, lower average selling prices and softer demand.
The Decatur, Ill.-based agribusiness company earned $64 million, or 10 cents per share. That's down from $372 million, or 58 cents per share, in the same period a year ago when the company benefited from crop prices that hit all-time highs.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates generally exclude one-time items, forecast profit of 45 cents per share for the period ended June 30.
"In the fourth quarter, we felt the impact of the global economic downturn, as we concluded a year of good performance overall," Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz said in a statement.
Revenue fell 24 percent to $16.53 billion from $21.78 billion but beat Wall Street's estimate of $15.24 billion.
ADM said lower average selling prices reduced sales by about $5.8 billion, partly offset by increased sales volumes.
Corn processing operating profit fell partly on higher corn costs, while weakening demand hurt oilseeds processing and agricultural services results.
Full-year net income slipped 5 percent to $1.71 billion, or $2.65 per share, from $1.8 billion, or $2.79 per share, in the previous year.
Annual sales dipped 1 percent to $69.21 billion from $69.82 billion.
Shares of ADM slipped 84 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $29.55 in premarket activity.
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