Cargill To Keep Investment Unit Despite Losses

Cargill Inc. said Tuesday that it remains committed to its asset management business despite investment losses that weighed on the world's largest agribusiness group by revenue.

The U.S. group said its diverse portfolio had provided a cushion amid a sharp slowdown in the second half of its financial year that saw net profits fall 69% to $327 billion in the quarter to May 31.

Financial services had been a key profit driver for Cargill, but the unit has lost money in two of the last three quarters on a portfolio that includes distressed loans, real-estate and other alternative investments.

"We believe that the worst is behind us," said Chief Financial Officer David MacLennan, noting that the bulk of losses were from the Black River Asset Management and CarVal Investors arms. "We are still committed to this business," he said in an interview.

The commodity risk management and energy trading operations had both performed well in the latest quarter, MacLennan said.

Cargill's global meatpacking, grain processing and food business is viewed as an industry bellwether, and like rivals such as Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) and Bunge Ltd (BG), has been hit by the global economic downturn.

Chief Executive Greg Page said in a statement that the economic recovery would likely be "uneven" though, like rivals, Cargill remains optimistic that demographic factors would continue to boost global food demand.

MacLennan said animal feed had been a bright spot in the latest quarter, with margins helped by the drop in commodity prices from historic highs last year.

Profits from the unit rose from a year ago, as did those from food ingredients. Its industrial holdings and grain processing operations both remained in profit, though below last year's levels.

Net profits in the fourth quarter fell to $327 million from $1.05 billion a year earlier - which included $310 million from asset sales - and were flat with the previous three months.

Full-year profits fell 16% to $3.33 billion - the second-highest ever - with revenue down 3% at $116.6 billion.

Cargill has been less active than rival Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) on the renewable fuels sector, and MacLennan said it had no plans for "significant" new investment in U.S. ethanol, having trimmed its exposure to the market two years ago.

The prospect for a good North American harvest should boost utilization in its grain processing business, he said, while its balance sheet strategy retained a focus on liquidity, paying down debt and positioning for acquisition opportunities.

-By Doug Cameron, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4135; [e-mail]