Monsanto Company announced fiscal year 2015 results reflecting year-over-year ongoing earnings per share growth of 10 percent or approximately 17 percent on an ongoing currency neutral basis, despite the downturn in the agriculture cycle.
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Year-over-year EPS declined eight percent on an as-reported basis. The performance of its global seeds and traits business, licensing agreements, and strong cost discipline were the biggest drivers of performance for the year.
Monsanto reported net sales of $2.4 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015. Net sales for the full fiscal year were $15 billion. Full-year net sales results were driven by the performance of the company’s Seeds and Genomics segment and licensing agreements, which were more than offset by foreign currency headwinds, declining corn acres and declines in glyphosate pricing.
Seeds and Genomics segment net sales were $1.3 billion for the quarter. For the fiscal year, net sales for the Seeds and Genomics segment reached $10.2 billion. Agricultural Productivity segment net sales were $1.1 billion for the quarter. Net sales for the Agricultural Productivity segment for the fiscal year reached $4.8 billion.
Monsanto reported a net loss of $495 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015, compared with a reported net loss of $156 million in the same period last year. Net income attributable to Monsanto for fiscal year 2015 was approximately $2.3 billion compared to net income attributable to Monsanto of $2.7 billion in fiscal year 2014.
For the full fiscal year, ongoing operating expenses were down eight percent, inclusive of inflationary increases and new platform spend. As-reported operating expenses were up four percent for the fiscal year.
The company's fiscal year 2015 earnings per share (EPS) was $5.73 on an ongoing basis, reflecting year-over-year ongoing earnings per share growth of 10 percent or approximately 17 percent on an ongoing currency neutral basis. Fiscal year 2015 EPS on an as-reported basis was $4.81, a year-over-year eight percent decline, reflecting $0.70 for charges related to the first phase of announced restructuring actions, $0.17 relating to a potential settlement of the previously disclosed SEC investigation pending since 2011, as well as $0.11 for costs related to its Pharmacia indemnification obligations, including litigation settlements and environmental remediation at a legacy mine location. Monsanto also received a $0.06 benefit from discontinued operations.
For the fourth quarter, the company reported earnings per share loss of $0.19 on an ongoing basis and a loss per share of $1.06 on an as-reported basis. ■