Archer Daniels aims for a better 2016

Article Excerpt

ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO. $36 (New York symbol ADM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 596.7 million; Market cap: $21.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.adm.com) processes corn, wheat, soybeans, canola, flax seed, peanuts and other crops into a variety of food ingredients, such as flour, oils and sweeteners. It’s also the largest maker of ethanol from corn in the U.S. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Archer’s earnings fell 66.3%, to $252 million from $747 million a year earlier. It spent $1.8 billion on share buybacks in the first nine months of 2015, so per-share profits declined 64.0%, to $0.41 from $1.14, on fewer shares outstanding. Without unusual items, mainly gains on asset sales, earnings per share fell 30.2%, to $0.60 from $0.86. Revenue declined 8.6%, to $16.6 billion from $18.1 billion. International markets supply half of the company’s revenue, so the high U.S. dollar hurts the…