Dive Brief:
- ADM said its profit jumped 57% in its most recent quarter to $747 million, despite a 15.3% drop in revenue.
- The giant agricultural trader and processor said it benefited from dramatically improving margins in its ethanol business, as corn prices fell amid reports of a record crop in the U.S.
- The company forecasted good times ahead - noting that grain exports through its terminals on the Gulf of Mexico approached record levels in September as the harvest began.
Dive Insight:
Among the more interesting items in ADM's earnings report is that the company acknowledges it struggled with supply in Brazil, as farmers there apparently took to hoarding soybean crops rather than selling in a low-price market. It was that exact issue that rival Bunge cited last week when it reported lower-than-expected earnings and revenue.