NEW YORK (AFX) -- Monsanto Co. reported Wednesday higher seed sales for its key second quarter, leading to 18% growth in net income ahead of the planting season for corn, soybean and cotton crops in the United States.
Monsanto , based in St. Louis, said second-quarter net income rose to $440 million, or $1.60 a share, from $373 million, or $1.37 a share, for the same period a year earlier.
Sales in the three months ended Feb. 28 -- Monsanto's largest quarterly contributor to earnings -- rose 15% to $2.2 billion from $1.91 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had forecast earnings, on average, of $1.52 a share and sales of $2.23 billion.
Sales of corn seeds and traits rose 25% to $811 million, and soybean sales climbed 1% to $449 million. The company's acquisition of Seminis, a $1.4 billion deal announced in January 2005, added $148 million in vegetable seed sales.
But the company's line of Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides reported a dip in sales to $427 million from $480 million, with lower revenue from Monsanto's Europe-Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.
Monsanto also affirmed a 2006 earnings outlook toward the upper end of its previously announced range of $2.35 to $2.50 a share. The Wall Street analyst average stands at $2.61 a share.
In addition, Monsanto said it expects to gain market share in the U.S. corn-seed market for a fifth straight year. It pointed to Agriculture Department estimates suggesting 78 million acres of corn will be planted in the upcoming season, along with 76 million acres of soybeans and 14 million acres of cotton.
Shares of Monsanto lost 57 cents to end Tuesday's trading at $86.08. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.
© 2006 AFX News
