Dive Brief:
- Monsanto's fiscal first quarter earnings proved higher than analysts expected due to soybean sales making up for "a weaker corn market," according to Bloomberg.
- Net sales in the quarter were $2.87 billion, a decline compared to 2014's approximately $3.14 billion.
- The company foresees "second quarter ongoing earnings per share" to fall 5% to 10% from last year, according to a news release.
Dive Insight:
"The differentiator for our business remains our focus on continued innovation both in our core business and new platforms. The near-term headwinds in agriculture persist, but our ability to deliver new solutions to help farmers improve yields while efficiently using resources provides the opportunity to deliver growth in both the current environment and over the longer-term," said Monsanto chairman and CEO Hugh Grant.
The earnings news must be welcome for Monsanto, considering the harshness of some earlier predictions.