The company did not offer guidance in its earnings release, but the consensus estimates for the third quarter of 2014 call for EPS of $0.79 on revenues of $21.55 billion. For the full year, analysts expect EPS of $3.01 on revenues of $89.39 billion.
While earnings are growing, revenues are not. In the company’s three major segments, revenues fell in each one with oilseeds processing down $495 million, corn processing down $567 million and agricultural services down $17 million. Operating profits were higher and corporate expenses improved. Because profits rose without a concomitant rise in revenues, chances are pretty good that cost-cutting made ADM’s quarter.
Operationally, ethanol profits rose $44 million to $141 million and cocoa profits posted a gain of $20 million, compared with a loss of $17 million in the prior quarter.
The company’s CEO said:
In the second quarter, the ADM team continued to execute very well and delivered strong results. We capitalized on robust ethanol demand, a recovery of U.S. grain export volumes and continuing strong demand for oilseeds products. … Today, the crops in North America and Europe are developing nicely, so we are preparing for what could be very large harvests.
ADM had no comment on its early July purchase of Switzerland-based WILD Flavors GmbH for about $3.1 billion. At the time we wondered if ADM may be thinking of moving offshore to take advantage of friendlier tax laws. Maybe someone will ask the question on the conference call later Tuesday.
ADM’s shares were up fractionally at $46.96 in premarket trading, in a 52-week range of $34.21 to $48.84. The consensus target price for the shares was $50.00 before the report.
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