World’s largest corn processor misses estimates after drought hurts U.S. crops
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM), the leading corn processor worldwide, reported its Q1 profit, which missed analysts’ estimates as U.S. crop supplies declined after last year’s drought. Net income fell to $269 million (41 cents a share), from $399 million (60 cents a share), a year earlier.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Patricia Woertz said that this was a challenging quarter, with agricultural services negatively impacted by last summer’s U.S. drought.
ADM processes grains like corn – making it into ethanol and sweeteners, and soybeans into animal feed and oil. The smaller volumes of crops have raised production costs. The drought was deemed the worst in 50 years – since the 1940s. U.S.