ADM Reports Second Quarter 2012.5 Earnings Of $510 Million Or $0.77 Per Share

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today reported financial results for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2012. The company reported net earnings for the quarter of $510 million, or $0.77 per share, up from $0.12 per share in the same period one year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share ¹ were $0.60, up from $0.51 in the same period last year. Segment operating profit ¹ was $808 million.

“The ADM team managed well despite challenges from the U.S. drought and from persistent, negative margins in the ethanol industry,” said ADM Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz. “Our results in Oilseeds and Agricultural Services demonstrated the ability of our people to use our global asset network to prepare for and manage in a range of market conditions.

“In North America, we fully utilized our oilseeds crushing capacity to meet strong global demand, and we adjusted our transportation and origination network to move goods efficiently despite constrained river traffic and a smaller corn crop. In South America, we leveraged our origination, transportation and export facilities to move the record corn crop to world markets. And, in Europe, we made some operational changes, and the market responded to reduced imports.

“During our abbreviated fiscal year, we drove meaningful improvements in capital, costs and cash to enhance our future competitiveness. We continued taking action to improve underperforming businesses. As part of our ongoing portfolio management, we sold $570 million of non-core investments. And, through a companywide focus, we unlocked more than $1 billion in working cash.”

Second Quarter 2012.5 Highlights

• Adjusted EPS of $0.60 excludes approximately $113 million in pretax LIFO gains ($0.11 per share) and other items that net to about $0.06 per share.
• Oilseeds Processing profit increased $202 million, with year-over-year improvements in crushing and origination results in all regions.
• Excluding last year’s $339 million asset impairment charge, Corn Processing profit decreased $207 million, due to ongoing weakness in industry ethanol margins.
• Agricultural Services profit rose $77 million, as solid U.S. soybean exports, improved international merchandising and a gain on ADM’s investment in GrainCorp benefitted results.
• Net debt balances declined to $7.2 billion, the lowest level since June 2010, as the benefits of the company wide focus on unlocking cash began to be realized.

Adjusted EPS of 60 Cents, up 9 Cents

Adjusted EPS increased primarily due to higher segment operating profit.

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