Viterra’s earnings fell 30 percent in the three months ending April 30, but chief executive officer Mayo Schmidt chose to focus on the positives in describing the period.”The second quarter was a period in which Viterra continued to pursue both its short and long-term strategic and financial objectives,” he said in a conference call discussing the quarter. Looking beyond the bare revenue and earnings numbers, he cited key accomplishments:* achieving $20 million in savings from the takeover of ABB Grain in Australia;* buying Dakota Growers Pasta Co., which will appear in financial results in the third quarter;* investing $20 to $25 million US in a joint venture canola processing plant in China, scheduled to be operating in 18 months; * buying 21st Century Grain Processing, a U.S. processor of oats, wheat, and custom-coated grain on May 27 for $91 million.Viterra also completed several financial transactions designed to provide increased funding and more financial flexibility, and saw its Standard and Poor’s credit rating in-creased to investment grade.Schmidt described the quarter’s results as solid, although net earnings were $18.4 million Cdn, down 30 percent from the same period last year. The company reported consolidated sales and other operating revenue of $2 billion, up by $441 million.Revenues were $3.8 billion in the first six months, up 28.2 percent from the same period last year.Earnings were $29.1 million (eight cents per share) for the first six months, compared with a net loss of $6.6 million in the same period last year, due mainly to a huge write-down of fertilizer inventory a year ago.All results include North American and Australian operations.Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the second quarter were $65 million in North America and $28.2 in Australia.Analyst Hari Sambasivam of National Bank Financial said the results were in line with his revised expectations but below industry consensus.NBF retained its company ratings and $10.50 per share target price, based on strong long-term fundamentals for grain and Viterra’s strong competitive position in Western Canada and Australia.Viterra shares closed at $8.20 on the Toronto Stock Exchange June 9, the day of the second quarter announcement, up from $7.70.Schmidt said the second half of the year should be busy.Strong grain movement in Australia is expected to continue, and seeding conditions in South Australia are good. He said grain movement is also expected to be strong in North America, although farmers in some parts of the Prairies face challenges due to excessive rainfall.”We are supporting them by positioning our people, resources and early maturing agri-products in an effort to maximize seeded acreage over the next two weeks.”
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