Earnings of $525 million were down significantly from last year's $1.49 billion for the quarter ended Aug. 31, mostly due to weaker performance from Cargill's holdings in Mosaic, the Plymouth-based fertilizer giant.

The earnings drop follows similar news in Cargill's annual report, delivered in August, which said falling fertilizer sales were dragging down earnings.

Privately held Cargill does not file full earnings statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission but releases a summary of its operations each quarter.

Two of the company's five business sectors, agriculture services and food ingredients and applications, saw earnings grow thanks to cheaper raw materials, reduced operating costs and changes to product mix, the company said. Earnings for the company's risk management and financial segment rose significantly.

Earnings from the origination and processing unit, which handles and trades grain, were down; and industrial earnings, which include Cargill's majority investment in Mosaic, were down sharply, the company reported.

"Cargill posted a solid quarter, notwithstanding the comparison to last year's all-time record," said Greg Page, Cargill chairman and CEO.

"Our business unit earnings were broad based, and they were up considerably from the final two quarters of fiscal 2009," Page said. "We've stayed focused on delivering solutions to customers, which drives the continuing investment in our people, facilities, technologies and innovation. All of this makes us optimistic about Cargill's ability to grow and to help our customers succeed in this still-fragile world economy."

New Cargill facilities opened this quarter include a glycerin refinery in Frankfurt, Germany; a feed mill that processes by-products from adjacent Cargill facilities in Efremov, Russia; and a canola research and production center in Aberdeen, Saskatchewan.

Cargill, the largest privately held corporation in the United States, employs 158,000 people in 68 countries.

Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune