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The company said profit from operations rose 18 percent to $744 million in the period from $628 million a year earlier amid demand for grains like soybeans and corn, which hit all-time highs this year. Cargill buys grain from farmers, ships it to foreign and domestic markets and processes it into food ingredients and other products.
“Despite tight stocks of many agricultural commodities, we maintained reliable supply chains for our customers and created value-adding solutions,” Chief Executive Greg Page said in a statement.
Fourth-quarter net income was padded by the $310 million sale of the gas-powered turbine plant, Teesside Power Limited.
Wayazata, Minn.-based Cargill is one of the world’s largest privately held companies. It releases limited financial information because it doesn’t have public shareholders and is not followed by Wall Street analysts.
Page said Cargill’s investment in the fertilizer market was also a profit driver.
In 2004 the company became a majority shareholder of the publicly traded fertilizer-maker Mosaic Co. The company’s stock more than tripled during Cargill’s 2008 fiscal year alone, rising from $30 a share $125 a share in May, and was trading at $102.26 Tuesday morning.
For the full fiscal year, Cargill earned $3.64 billion from continuing operations, a 55 percent increase from $2.34 billion a year ago. The $310 million gain on the sale of discontinued operations in the fourth quarter brought fiscal 2008 net earnings to $3.95 billion.
Revenue in 2008 rose 36 percent to $120.4 billion, the company said. Cash flow from operations increased 77 percent to $7 billion.
Page said growing demand for grains and meat in the developing world bodes well for Cargill’s outlook. While grain prices might ease off record highs, a growing middle class overseas will buoy future sales, he said.
“If markets are allowed to work, today’s prices can spark a supply response from farmers,” Page said in a statement. “A rekindling of public and private investment in agriculture and in rural infrastructure will drive productivity gains.”
