Cargill Inc. on Tuesday said its fiscal third-quarter profit
fell 28%, as a power-trading loss weighed on the commodities
giant's results.
An "unprecedented price spike" in U.S. power markets in January
led to a trading loss that was reported in February to be about
$100 million, though Cargill refuted that figure. The company on
Tuesday said part of the power-trading loss has since been
recovered.
Cargill, whose businesses include grain trading and processing,
meatpacking, and salt mining, reported net earnings of $319 million
for the quarter ended Feb. 28, down 28% from a year earlier.
Revenue at Cargill, one of the world's largest privately held
companies, was flat at $32 billion.
"External events affected our quarterly results, even as we saw
operational improvements in key businesses," Cargill Chief
Executive David MacLennan said.
The suburban Minneapolis company said its results also were
pressured by China's rejection of "certain U.S. corn shipments' and
severe winter weather, which snarled U.S. and Canadian logistics
and slowed some agricultural sales.
The power-trading loss was reported in February by
SparkSpread.com, an energy-market publication, which didn't cite a
source for its information.
Write to Jacob Bunge at jacob.bunge@wsj.com
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