By Kevin McCauley
Agricultural products giant Archer Daniels Midland has retained Burson-Marsteller’s Prime Policy Group to deal with trade with Japan and ethanol matters as the company’s bioproducts unit struggles with a market oversupply and the end of the 45 cent per-gallon tax credit that expired Jan. 1.
ADM reported a 25 percent drop in Q4 profits to $284M as its bioproducts unit posted “negative ethanol margins.”
The bioproducts division posted a $61M operating loss in the period compared to an $111M profit a year ago. For the full-year, profit tumbled from $749M to a $74M deficit.
Standard and Poor’s today revised its outlook on ADM to “negative” from “stable,” believing the nation’s drought across most of the nation’s farm belt “could also result in lower volumes for the company's ethanol facilities (which are currently not profitable), possibly leading to an extended period of weak earnings in that business.”
PPG CEO Scott Pastrick handles the ADM business. |