Asset sales bring increase to ADM

Asset sales bring increase to ADM

CHICAGO -- Archer Daniels Midland Co. said Monday its quarterly profit more than doubled, largely due to one-time gains from asset sales, though its processing business was hurt by a drop in ethanol sales volume. The company said earnings rose to $954.8 million, or $1.47 per share, in the fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30, from $410.3 million, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier. The latest results included after-tax gains of $616 million from asset sales, including $440 million from the exchange of stakes in Chinese joint ventures for shares in Wilmar International Ltd., the largest agriculture processing business in Asia.

Tyson Foods gains after cost cutting

CHICAGO -- Tyson Foods Inc, the world's No. 1 meat producer, reported a larger-than-expected quarterly profit Monday due to higher beef, chicken and pork prices and cost-cutting efforts. The fiscal third-quarter profit was the third in a row for the company, which a year ago was posting losses due in part to higher grain costs and low chicken prices. The company at that time initiated a $200 million cost-cutting program. For the quarter, which ended June 30, Tyson earned $111 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $52 million, or 15 cents per share.

Humana reports strong quarter

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Humana Inc. reported Monday that its second-quarter profit more than doubled from a year ago on the strength of improved cost controls and sharply higher income from its government business. For the three months ended June 30, Humana posted net income of $216.8 million, or $1.28 a share, up from $89.5 million, or 53 cents a share, in the same period last year. Premiums from Humana's stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans totaled just over $1 billion for the quarter, a 31 percent increase from a year ago. Membership in the company's stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans totaled 3.44 million at June 30, down slightly from 3.46 million at June 30, 2006.

Housing woes weigh on GMAC

NEW YORK -- GMAC, the finance company once controlled by General Motors Corp., posted a 63 percent decline in second-quarter profit Monday, hurt by subprime mortgage losses at its home lending unit. Results, however, improved from the first quarter's after the company reduced lending risk. Earnings at GMAC fell to $293 million from $787 million a year earlier, but showed improvement from the first quarter's $305 million loss. Revenue fell 20 percent from a year earlier to $4.02 billion.

RadioShack stalls in second quarter

DALLAS -- A yearlong turnaround effort at RadioShack Corp. appeared to falter Monday as the electronics retailer swung to a second-quarter profit but saw revenue decline 15 percent because of softening sales of cellular phones and other key products. It reported net income of $47 million, or 34 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30 versus a loss of $3.2 million, or 2 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue fell to $934.8 million from $1.10 billion in the previous year. Its same-store sales -- sales at stores open at least a year -- fell 8.9 percent during the quarter, hurt by its post-paid wireless business.