Monsanto sales up 15% in Q2

Monsanto’s sales were up by 15.2 % to $ 5,472 million in the second quarter ended February 28, 2013, the second quarter net income rose by 22.4% to $ 1,483 million compared with the same period of previous year. For the six months of the year, sales were up by 17.0% to $ 8,411 million versus $7,187 million of the same period of last year, the net income increased by 36.1% to $1,832 million. EBIT (earnings before interest & taxes) for the second quarter rose by 17.7% to $2,096 million and for six-month boosted by 28.7% to $2,586 million. Monsanto’s executives noted results were driven by contributions from across the company's business portfolio, including continued growth of its global corn business and positive performance of its agricultural productivity segment.

Sales in the Seeds and Genomics segment for the second quarter were $4.3 billion, an increase of $422 million over the same period last year.  For the first six months, sales for the segment are up $643 million over the same period last year.

Monsanto's global corn business led the Seeds and Genomics segment performance, as it expects to hit record total corn volumes in 2013. The second quarter results were driven in part by the conclusion of a successful and record second season in Brazil where the company continued to achieve strong demand for its latest corn products. The U.S. corn business also drove the results for the quarter, with the company projecting another year of strong performance from the business driven by the positive mix improvement across its corn portfolio. The company is on track to reach the high end of its 36 million to 38 million acre target range for its Genuity® reduced refuge family.

Monsanto’s sales result ($ million)
Q2 ended February 28	Q2 2013	Q2 2012	change%	Six-month of 2013	Six-month of 2012	change%
Sales	5,472	4,748	15.2	8,411	7,187	17.0
Seeds & traits	4,346	3,924	10.8	6,101	5,458	11.8
Agrochemicals	1,126	824	36.7	2,310	1,729	33.6
EBIT1	2,096	1,781	17.7	2,586	2,010	28.7
Seeds & traits	1,840	1,699	8.3	2,060	1,846	11.6
Agrochemicals	256	82	212.2	526	164	220.7
Net income	1,483	1,212	22.4	1,832	1,346	36.1
1 earnings before interest & taxes

The current and emerging opportunities in the company's global soybean business complement the global corn business. In the United States, the company has achieved strong results year-to-date, with the positive order book and shipments positioning the company well to deliver to the high end of its 39 million to 41 million acre target range for its Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® platform. This performance comes as the company prepares to enter the next phase of innovation in its soybean platform, including the addition of both Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ and Intacta RR2 PRO™ soybeans. The company noted that new results from its second year of Intacta RR2 PRO™ Ground Breakers® on-farm field trials in Brazil have demonstrated a better than 4 bushel per acre yield advantage against first-generation Roundup Ready® soybeans at more than 1,000 locations, double the number of locations from its 2012 Ground Breakers® on-farm field trials in Brazil.

Monsanto’s agrochemical sales rose by 36.7% to $1,126 million in the second quarter ,for the six months of the year, the sales were up by 33.6% to $2,310million compared with the same period of previous year. This growth was due to higher prices for glyphosate, reflecting the continued benefit of a favorable marketplace environment. The company remains focused on its established Roundup® strategy.

Out look

The company raised its full year ongoing EPS guidance to $4.40 to $4.50 per share. Full year 2013 EPS guidance on an as-reported basis is expected in the range of $4.42 to $4.52 per share. The company affirmed its previously announced full year free cash flow guidance of $1.8 billion to $2 billion. The company expects net cash provided by operating activities to be $2.9 billion to $3.3 billion, and net cash required by investing activities to be $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion for fiscal year 2013.