Brisk beef demand buoys Cargill’s profit
The Minneapolis-based agricultural commodities giant generated $973m in earnings for the quarter up to 31 August – up 14% year-on-year.
Animal protein earnings were “up significantly” with beef powering financial results for Cargill, as higher consumer demand, strong exports and strong cattle supplies created a favourable market climate.
Global poultry is slightly behind after Central American sales dented strong US and South East Asian demand for Cargill’s chickens, ducks and turkeys.
Beef powers performance
“We’re off to a good start in our new fiscal year, powered by the significant work we’ve done over the last few years and continuing to accelerate our performance,” said David MacLennan, Cargill’s CEO.
“Even as market conditions vary across our sectors, our teams are delivering for our customers and achieving results to fuel future growth.”
However, Cargill’s grain division, called Origination and Processing, experienced a tough quarter.
Cargill to boost workforce diversity
“Although global demand for grain and oilseeds continues to grow, rising production and building global stocks during the last four crop cycles has depressed market volatility and commodity prices,” Cargill said in a statement.
Work to minimise grain sector pressure is underway and new production lines at two of Cargill’s oilseed processing plants in Kansas and North Carolina have been introduced to improve productivity.
Despite headwind in grain and Cargill’s smaller finance services division, the business still reported quarterly revenue of $27.3bn, slightly ahead of the $27.1bn reported last year.
In related news, Cargill has signed up to the newly launched CEO Action for Diversity scheme, which aims to encourage business leaders to foster workforce diversity and inclusivity.
