Monsanto’s Earnings Rose 22% on Strong Corn Seed Demand

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

Monsanto Co. reports its fiscal second-quarter earnings jumped to 22% as the increased demand for corn seed coupled with increased demand for genetically modified seed traits drove sale growth surpassing previous expectations. Monsanto also raised its full-year earnings by 10 cents $4.40 to $4.50 a share.

Monsanto’s revenue has done fairly well over the past couple of years as crop prices have been relatively high and U.S. farmers are willing to pay a premium for seeds that tend to do better in drought-like conditions. The company has also seen growth in its South America market, which has seen a shift in demand towards purchasing genetically modified seeds. Revenue from the seeds and genomics division rose 11% to $4.35 billion. The agricultural productivity/crop production division had a 37% increase to $1.13 billion.

Late last month, DuPont signed a $1.75 billion licensing agreement with Monsanto as part of a series of licencing agreement on genetically modified seed technology.