Monsanto Profits Surge In 1st Quarter On Strength Of GMO Seed Business

ST. LOUIS — Monsanto Co. said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter earnings soared on strength of its seed business. The company also brightened its outlook for the full fiscal year.

Its shares rose more than 5 percent Thursday.

Monsanto said its net income rose to $126 million, or 23 cents per share, for the three months ended Nov. 30. That's up from $9 million, or 2 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue leaped 33 percent to $2.44 billion from $1.84 billion a year earlier. Monsanto said growth was driven by demand for corn throughout Latin America.

Sales in Monsanto's seeds and genomics segment increased 32 percent to $1.5 billion, reflecting the strength in Latin America and some timing benefits from its Australian cotton business.

Overall, sales of corn seed and traits rose 46 percent, while sales of cotton seeds and traits jumped 73 percent.

"We've seen a very strong start to the year, with real growth in Latin America and early orders in the United States that underscore our sustained momentum carrying into 2012," Chairman, President and CEO Hugh Grant said.

FactSet says analysts expected earnings of 16 cents per share on revenue of $2.05 billion.

For all of fiscal 2012, the St. Louis company expects earnings per share of between $3.39 and $3.44, which is at the high end of its previous expectation of a growth percentage in the "mid-teens." Analysts expect earnings of $3.47 per share.

Its shares rose $4.01, or 5.5 percent, to close at $76.68 Thursday. Its 52-week high of $78.71 was set in late October.

Comments

[paulmartinez]

11:26 PM on 01/11/2012

The problem with Monsanto is not really Monsanto and its beyond just one company or even a group of corporations, the real problem behind all of the evil things you see in Monsanto is….http://trylivingorganic.com/2012/01/12/is-monsanto-the-devil/

[davidpower]

04:01 PM on 01/09/2012

most people are lame to the Monsanto ways!

[ResearchGirl]

09:43 PM on 01/07/2012

Hazel, just curious, how's your soil tilth and % organic matter holding up, and what crops do you sow?

[rosa999]

10:36 PM on 01/07/2012

She won't answer that. She and her friends are probably Monsanto employees.

[benwha]

11:18 PM on 01/07/2012

Last qtr monsanto's sales were up 20%, this qtr 30%. This is a 50 billion dollar company. Not many 50 billion dollar companies can grow their sales like that I would imagine. Yet the antigmoers on here continue to cling to their misinformation and lack of knowledge and of course the notion that there are only two types of people in the world, those against Monsanto and those that work for them.

[HazelPethigFan]

10:32 AM on 01/08/2012

most farmers support gmo. Are we all Monsanto employees?

[HazelPethigFan]

10:27 AM on 01/08/2012

soil is fine. i grow beans corn and some wheat.

[Happy Clb]

03:31 PM on 01/07/2012

i can't say i mind gmo cotton and other gmo non consumable agricultural products, but with food, it's different. we don't need frankenstein food, even if it's only fed to cattle and chickens and pigs. it still gets passed on to humans. all the auto immune diseases and allergies that result from gmo products is not worth it.

[frank day]

12:45 PM on 01/07/2012

Monsanto's price has fluctuated considerably and frequently over the past year.

Anybody know why??

[NonlinearEd]

11:23 AM on 01/06/2012

Two significant points:

If wind crossing acreage planted with GMO (such as current corn, soy or alfalfa crops) pollinates non-GMO crops on other farms Monsanto has legislation placed which allows them to sue the owner of the now GMO tainted crops forcing them to be destroyed without offering compensation.

Unlike the 10,000 year plus tradition of saving this years seed for next years crop, Monsanto, under threat of suit for 'damages,' legally enjoins the GMO-farmer to buy new seed every year for (if memory serves) at least four of five years.

While any company deserves the right to earn a return on their investment, I find it impossible to justify actions such as the above. Particularly given the danger value of food and feed crops whose major design 'improvement' is to stuff more toxin into the plants for us to consume.

[Karl Wilder]

12:08 PM on 01/06/2012

All Monsanto executives should be in jail for crimes against nature.

[Cynth]

11:46 PM on 01/06/2012

...and humanity.

[rosa999]

01:12 PM on 01/07/2012

Yes. They are one of the most evil.

[HazelPethigFan]

10:00 PM on 01/06/2012

"Unlike the 10,000 year plus tradition of saving this years seed for next years crop, Monsanto, under threat of suit for 'damages,' legally enjoins the GMO-farmer to buy new seed every year"

-----------------------------
Does this include keeping GMO corn seeds?
Any farmer who tried to keep GMO or nonGMO corn seeds to plant the next season would cause his neighbors roll on the ground with laughter. Do you understand why?

[BrainofA]

03:51 AM on 01/06/2012

For those interested in avoiding GMO foods and/or just learning more about GMOs and their impact here are a couple of resources. The only way to make an impact on a company like this is to hit their bottom line. Buy organic and non-GMO certified products whenever possible.

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/
http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/
http://www.nongmoproject.org/

[Russst]

08:31 PM on 01/05/2012

I just want plain, unaltered foods. Period. No chemicals. No alterations. Just the same stuff that was around when Columbus discovered America. No one has any idea how many or which diseases and medical conditions are caused by the alterations Monsanto has done. Monsanto scares me.

Oh, did you read recently that some insects or boring worms, I forget which, are becoming resistant to crops that have Roundup in them? Kinda like how bacteria is resistant to antibiotics now. Leaves a person to wonder what's next?

Some day the world will find out just how dangerous Monsanto is and how much damage they have done.

[HazelPethigFan]

09:44 PM on 01/06/2012

Wow....talk about misinformed.

"Just the same stuff that was around when Columbus discovered America."

really? do you really think all preGMO crops were just laying around when Columbus came? lol. Ever hear of 1860's Mendel genetics? Or is 1860's science just too darn fancy for you?

[HazelPethigFan]

09:52 PM on 01/06/2012

.....and Round Up has absolutely nothing to do with "some insects of boring worms"

get a clue.

[RazorClam61]

05:13 PM on 01/05/2012

they are the devil, their weak gene seeds will have us wiped out if they are not stopped, another GOP supported giant company trying to take over the world

[BrainofA]

03:29 AM on 01/06/2012

Not just a GOP supported company. It would be easy if it were just one party f*%king us over. We could just vote them all out but both parties are the same. Obama appointed former Monsanto attorney and Vice President, Michael Taylor, to the FDA and he's now the US Food Safety Czar.

The only possible way for us to fight this right now is to vote with our dollars Buy certified organic and GMO free foods and buy from local farms and farmers markets whenever possible.

[rosa999]

01:15 PM on 01/07/2012

Bill Gates is invested in Monsanto (his foundation I guess) and plans on using the GMO stuff in the agricultural projects to relieve poverty in Africa. Just unbelievable the ignorance.

[HazelPethigFan]

09:46 PM on 01/06/2012

So why do all the Democrat farmers I know strongly support GMOs? Or does that cause too much confusion in your tiny urban brain cells?

[rosa999]

01:17 PM on 01/07/2012

I know lots of farmers and none of them support GMO and I am certain that most of them voted for Obama. What are you talking about?

[El Justiciero]

12:52 PM on 02/01/2012

I know more farmers against GMO. So what? Farmers, like everyone else, differ in opinions.

[lastwarning2earth rev14]

04:02 PM on 01/05/2012

I heard that Monsanto, wants to control the food supply of the world.

I watched an 137 min dvd on youtube tittled " What in the world are they spraying"

It examined airplanes dumping out poisons into the sky ( aluminuim) to kill the vegetation. Its been going on everywhere for over 10 years. Monsanto has developed the only aluminuim resistant seeds. ( gee, what a coincidence)

[BebeLush]

04:24 PM on 01/05/2012

The documentary Food, Inc. tells you all you need to know about Monsanto. Scary company, to say the least.

[ontariogirl]

06:20 PM on 01/06/2012

You got that right.

[HazelPethigFan]

09:48 PM on 01/06/2012

Try learning about agriculture in more places other than one Manhattan-produced film.

[HazelPethigFan]

01:56 PM on 01/05/2012

oh geez... here we go again. stand by for the typical anti-science comments.

wait for it:

[blytzd]

02:11 PM on 01/05/2012

I dont see anything about science in this artuicle only money$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[HazelPethigFan]

02:48 PM on 01/05/2012

just wait... you'll see lots of comments about how GMOs are harmful and makes farmers ( like me) slaves to some corporate conspiracy

[rosa999]

06:05 PM on 01/07/2012

This is called technology,. It's applied science and some of the scientific applications are not a good idea. GMO's are one of them. And, this is one of the areas where you don't know.