Delta and Pine Land Company (NYSE: DLP) ("D&PL"), a leading commercial breeder, producer and marketer of cotton planting seed, today announced financial results for the second fiscal quarter and six months ended February 29, 2004.

    Second Quarter and Six-Month Results
 

    Net income for the second quarter was $0.24 per diluted share compared to last year's second quarter net income of $0.41 per diluted share.  Net income includes a reduction of $0.06 per diluted share related to Monsanto/Pharmacia litigation expenses incurred during the second quarter, compared to a reduction of $0.07 per diluted share incurred in last year's second quarter. Net sales and licensing fees for the 2004 second quarter was $88.3 million compared to $107.5 million in the prior year quarter.  The revenue decrease was primarily due to implementation of an inventory management strategy whereby inventory shipments to distributors are more closely matched to farmer orders, which is expected to shift sales into the third quarter when significant cotton plantings commence.  International sales were lower due primarily to sales in China occurring in this year's first quarter versus the second quarter of last year.  Operating expenses for the quarter increased due primarily to higher research and development costs and an increase in professional fees.

    Net income for the 2004 six-month period was $0.06 per diluted share compared to net income of $0.22 per diluted share for the same period last year.  Net income included a reduction of $0.10 per diluted share related to

Monsanto/Pharmacia litigation expenses during the six-month period ended February 29, 2004, which matches the $0.10 per diluted share reduction recorded in the same period ended February 28, 2003.  Prior year net income was affected by expenses related to a facility closing and a workforce reduction that reduced earnings per diluted share by $0.01.  Net sales for the 2004 six-month period were $102.1 million as compared to $113.1 million in the prior year period.  This was due primarily to an expected shifting of some U.S. cottonseed sales into the third quarter, offset by an increase in soybean sales in response to higher soybean commodity prices in 2004 over 2003. International sales were also higher than last year for the six months ending February 29, 2004, due to increased sales in Australia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey.  Operating expenses increased due primarily to higher research and development costs and an increase in professional fees.

    Tom Jagodinski, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "As we enter our third quarter we continue to process and ship seed while pursuing growth opportunities, including securing alternative sources of technology and initiating discussions with potential partners in two new international markets.  The recent increase in soybean commodity prices coupled with a decline in cotton fiber prices appears to have initiated a shift in farmer

planting intentions toward soybeans from cotton.  Although this information concerns us, it is still very early in the planting season and too soon to accurately predict 2004 planted cotton acreage."

    Stock Repurchase Plan

    For the quarter ended February 29, 2004, the Company purchased 79,000 shares of its common stock at an aggregate purchase price of $2.0 million. The Company has repurchased 1,560,266 shares at an aggregate price of $29.4 million under its current $50 million stock buyback plan.  The Company will continue to purchase its shares from time to time depending on market conditions and other factors.

    U.S. Cotton Acreage Estimates

    On March 31, 2004, the USDA issued its Prospective Plantings Survey for this crop season, which estimated U.S. cotton plantings of 14.4 million acres. On March 29, 2004, Reuters news service released a poll of various cotton industry insiders, which reflected an average of cotton acreage estimates of those individuals polled of 13.5 million acres.  The difference in these two reports may be attributable in part to the timing of the respective surveys and other factors.  However, both estimates are below the 14.5 million acre estimate used by the Company in developing its earlier earnings estimate.  Due to the difficulty in accurately forecasting cotton plantings at present, the Company is not releasing updated earnings guidance at this time.  As more information becomes available, we will consider the need to update the previously issued earnings estimate.

    Quarterly Dividend

    The Company also announced its Board of Directors had declared a dividend of $0.12 per share for the third quarter.  The dividend, payable to shareholders of record on May 31, 2004, will be paid on June 14, 2004.

Delta and Pine Land Company is a leading commercial breeder, producer and marketer of cotton planting seed.  Headquartered in Scott, Mississippi, with multiple offices in eight states and facilities in several foreign countries, D&PL also breeds, produces and markets soybean planting seed in the U.S. 

Complete statement in PDF format at
http://www.deltaandpine.com/newsite/Investors/Second%20Quarter%20Operating%20Results%202004.pdf