World Grain - March 2012 - 15

newsreview
Olam half-year earnings up 6.4%
SINGAPORE — Olam International Limited reported on Feb. 14 proﬁt after tax of S$186.8 million ($149.4 million) for the half year ended Dec. 31, an increase of 6.4% over the previous corresponding half year and operational proﬁt after tax and minority interests (PATMI) of S$162.7 million, up 14.9% over the same period a year ago. Sales volume registered strong growth of 15.8% year-on-year to 4.52 million tonnes. Net contribution (NC) improved 18.5% to S$607.1 million during the half year. NC margin per tonne grew by 2.4% from S$131 to S$134. The relatively recession-resistant food category accounted for 77.6% of revenue and 83.2% of volumes. More importantly, this segment recorded strong NC growth of 32.1% and NC per tonne growth of 12.2% over the previous period. The Industrial Raw Materials (IRM) segment accounted for 22.4% of revenue and 16.8% of the volumes in H1 FY2012, registering volume growth of 7.4%. Due to very difﬁcult trading conditions, NC in this segment declined 24% compared to the previous period. Olam’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Ofﬁcer Sunny Verghese said, “Our H1 FY2012 results reﬂect the resilience of the Olam model as we have continued to deliver positive operating results, even in periods of uncertainty and volatility in many global markets. The food and food-related segments of our business continue to demonstrate robust growth across businesses, geographies and value chain activities. This strong performance has helped to offset the results achieved in our industrial raw material business which is more recession-sensitive, and therefore continues to face demand and margin pressures.

ADM to capitalize on Asia’s boom to boost earnings power
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA, U.S. — Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) leaders on Feb. 21 outlined the company’s plan to boost earnings power and drive future earnings growth at the annual meeting of the Consumer Analyst Group of New York. Chairman and Chief Executive Ofﬁcer Patricia Woertz said ADM’s business strategies are designed to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the world’s growing, more prosperous population, particularly in Asia. “To supply growing demand for agricultural products, the world will need more crops and global networks that can connect those crops with growing markets,” said Woertz. “ADM is expanding our operations and transportation network to meet those needs.” ADM is enhancing its collaboration with Wilmar International Limited, Asia’s largest agribusiness. Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Ofﬁcer Juan Luciano announced that the companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in purchasing and distribution opportunities in the global fertilizer business; the utilization and management of ocean freight assets; and the optimization of their tropical oil reﬁning operations in Europe. Collaborations between ADM and Wilmar began in the mid-1990s, when they jointly built a network of soybean processing operations in China. Today, ADM owns a 16% equity stake in Wilmar. The companies have signiﬁcant supplier relationships with each other. Woertz provided an update on the ongoing workforce reduction, noting that the company currently projects annual pretax savings from these measures and other targeted cost reductions to be more than $125 million. She said the company would further update the savings number and the charge related to the reorganization during its third-quarter earnings conference call.
www.World-Grain.com / World Grain / March 2012

For more information, see Page 90.

http://www.flouradditive.com http://www.polengida.com http://www.World-Grain.com

World Grain - March 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - March 2012