Monsanto Co. said Wednesday that its second-quarter earnings more than doubled on increasingly strong sales of corn seed and herbicide in the United States. But the St. Louis-based company's profit forecast for 2008 appeared to disappoint Wall Street.
Monsanto's quarterly profits more than double
April 3, 2008 at 1:14AM
Monsanto earned $1.13 billion, or $2.02 per share, in the three months ended Feb. 29, up from $543 million, or 98 cents per share, in the prior year. Its revenue jumped 45 percent to $3.8 billion from $2.6 billion in the prior-year period. Results surpassed the expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call, who predicted earnings of $1.72 per share.
The company forecast 2008 profits of between $3.15 and $3.25 a share on an ongoing basis. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had predicted earnings of $3.20 a share.
Monsanto's shares fell 95 cents, less than a percent, to close at $112 Wednesday.
Research in Motion Ltd. The maker of the BlackBerry said in Toronto Wednesday that the company's fiscal fourth-quarter profit and sales more than doubled as it beat expectations and shrugged off concerns that a slowdown in the U.S. economy is hurting business.
For the quarter ended March 1, Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM) earned $412.5 million, or 72 cents per share, up from a profit of $187.4 million, or 33 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue more than doubled to $1.88 billion from $930 million.
U.S.-traded shares in RIM rose $5.46, about 4.7 percent, to $121.25 in after-hours trading Wednesday. The stock earlier had closed at $115.79, down $1.69, before the earnings announcement.
about the writer
Even as companies look for new space and bring employees back in person, it’s not enough to offset space vacated in the wake of the pandemic. But some brokers and boosters are optimistic despite the ongoing challenges.
