PARIS (Reuters) -Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), one of the world’s largest crop merchants, on Monday said its first-half net profit and sales fell from a year earlier, when results were boosted by upheaval linked to the war in Ukraine.
LDC, whose rivals include ADM, Bunge and Cargill, reported a group net profit of $568 million for the first half of 2023, compared with $662 million in the year-earlier period. Net sales fell to $25.8 billion from $30.3 billion.
Volatility in most of its markets eased compared with the previous year while prices fell except for robusta coffee, sugar, rice and citrus juices, LDC said in a financial report.
Volatility fuelled by Russia’s invasion of fellow grain exporter Ukraine had buoyed profits for crop merchants as they used their global networks to manage supply disruptions and meet firm global food demand.
ADM and Bunge reported a drop in second-quarter profits from record year-earlier levels, though the firms each raised full-year earnings guidance, with a bumper Brazilian harvest for corn and soybeans supporting processing margins.
LDC similarly cited the big Brazilian crop, together with strong Chinese demand, as helping its grain and oilseed business that was a driver of first-half performance.
In Russia, LDC stopped exporting Russian grain from July 1 as planned and was continuing to study options to transfer its existing Russian business and grain assets to new owners, it said.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Sharon Singleton)
