Monsanto 4th-Qtr Profit Falls 51% After Acquisitions, Spending
Bloomberg News
January 21, 1999, 8:30 a.m. ET
Monsanto 4th-Qtr Profit Falls 51% After Acquisitions, Spending
St. Louis, Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Monsanto Co., an
agricultural biotechnology and drug company, said its fourth-
quarter earnings fell 51 percent, in line with analysts'
expectations, as increased spending on acquisitions and research
eroded revenue from its herbicides and pharmaceuticals.
The St. Louis-based maker of Roundup herbicide and the
insomnia drug Ambien, said profit before charges fell to $27
million, or 5 cents a diluted share, from profit before charges
of $55 million, or 9 cents, in the year-earlier period. The
results matched the average estimate of 5 cents a share forecast
by 14 analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. Revenue rose 18
percent to $2.1 billion from $1.8 billion in the year-ago period.
The decline comes two months after St. Louis-based Monsanto
said it would cut as many as 1,000 jobs and raise $5 billion in
debt, equity and asset sales to help pay off $6 billion in seed
company acquisitions. Monsanto made the acquisitions as it
transforms itself from a chemicals company into a leading
producer of genetically improved crops.
In the latest quarter, a charge of $625 million to cover the
costs of eliminating 1,700 jobs in 1999 and a charge of $233
million to write off research associated with its acquisition of
DeKalb Genetics Corp., resulted in a loss from continuing
operations of $603 million, or $1.00 a share. In the year-ago
quarter, a charge of $50 million, or 8 cents a share to write off
research underway at an acquired company, led to net income of $5
million, or 1 cent a share.
Monsanto's shares rose 2 1/2 yesterday to close at 39 15/16.
--Toni Clarke in the Chicago newsroom (312) 692-3725 /mfr |
