Monsanto confirms fiscal year 2005 earnings per share guidance; updates fiscal year 2005 free cash flow guidance

In a presentation today, Monsanto Company's (NYSE: MON) Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Terry Crews will outline paths for continued growth of Monsanto's strategy.  Crews' presentation will be part of the 35th Annual Investment Conference sponsored by Banc of America Securities.

Crews will note that the company's discipline over the last two years has resulted in an established seeds and traits platform for fiscal year 2005, and has reinforced its ability to grow in the years ahead.

"Our strategic evolution has established Monsanto as the leading innovator in agricultural seeds and technology," says Crews.  "The financial discipline we have exercised has also allowed us to establish a solid foundation which is poised for growth in the years ahead."

Crews believes Monsanto's growth will come from two key areas:  the accelerated growth of the company's core business primarily driven by its corn seeds and traits business, and through the recent acquisitions of the Seminis vegetable seed and Emergent cotton seed businesses.

Fiscal Year 2005 Guidance

Crews will also confirm earnings per share (EPS) guidance for fiscal year 2005 in range of $0.82 to $0.87 on a reported basis, and $2.00 to $2.05 on an ongoing basis.
 

Additionally, Monsanto now expects that free cash flow will roughly break even for fiscal year 2005, compared with the previous estimate in the range of negative $400 million.  Crews said the improvement in free cash flow was driven primarily by improvements in working capital compared with the previous estimate.  Monsanto expects net cash provided by operations to be approximately $1.7 billion, net cash required by investing activities to be approximately $(1.7 billion), and net cash required by financing activities to be approximately $(550) million, resulting in a net decrease in cash and cash equivalents of approximately $(550) million.

Crews' presentation slides and a simultaneous audio webcast of the presentation will be available through Banc of America's conference web site today.  To access the webcast of this presentation, go to:  http://www.veracast.com/webcasts/bas/35th-annual-2005/id42307551.cfm. 

Following today's live broadcast, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. PDT (1:30 EDT), a replay of the webcast will be available for two weeks through this same link.  Crews' presentation slides will also be archived at the Investor Relations section of Monsanto's website at http://www.monsanto.com.

Monsanto will report its complete financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2005 on Wednesday, October 12.

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.  For more information on Monsanto, see: http://www.monsanto.com. 

RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

The presentations of ongoing earnings per share (EPS) and free cash flow are not intended to replace net income (loss), cash flows, financial position or comprehensive income (loss), and they are not measures of financial performance as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States.  The following tables reconcile ongoing EPS and free cash flow to the respective most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP.

Reconciliation of EPS to Ongoing EPS:  Ongoing EPS is calculated excluding certain after-tax items which Monsanto does not consider part of ongoing operations.

Reconciliation of Free Cash Flow:  Free cash flow represents the total of cash flows from operations and investing activities.