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Scott, Mississippi
March 27, 2001
Delta and Pine Land Company (NYSE: DLP), a leading
commercial breeder, producer and marketer of cotton planting seed, today announced record financial results for
the second fiscal quarter and six months ended February 28, 2001.
Second quarter 2001 net income was $0.59 per diluted share compared to last year's second quarter net income of
$0.30 per diluted share (excluding a one-time gain of $1.16 per diluted share related to the terminated merger with
Monsanto and the cumulative effect of an accounting change). No unusual items were recorded in the second
quarter of 2001.
Net sales for the 2001 second quarter increased 44% to $150.2 million from $104.2 million in the year-ago
quarter. The increase in sales is largely the result of an acceleration of shipments into the second quarter from the
third quarter as customers purchased seed earlier in the cycle.
In addition, sales and earnings benefited by strengthened domestic as well as international markets. Sales of
domestic seed increased 43% in the second quarter from the year-ago period. The Company believes that the
increase in customer orders and subsequent shipments are partly due to the forecasted increase in planted cotton
acreage for 2001 compared to 2000 levels by The National Cotton Council as well as two independent cotton
merchants. The Company also noted that soybean sales in the second quarter of 2001 were behind levels of a
year-ago due to what appears to be a shift in southern market acreage from soybeans to cotton as well as
price-cutting by competitors. Delta and Pine Land Company has not reduced its pricing.
Delta and Pine Land Company expects its annual earnings to be in line with current analysts estimates for the year
ending August 31, 2001 and believes that the shift in sales into the second quarter from the third quarter will not
affect annual earnings. The Company points out, however, that actual planted cotton acreage can vary widely
depending on many many factors such as weather, commodity prices and governmental programs in effect at or
near planting time which will occur in the third quarter, thus making forecasting at this point in the year an
uncertainty.
Net income for the six-month period was $0.47 per diluted share, an increase from $0.14 per diluted share for the
comparable prior year period. Net sales for the period increased 47% to $159.8 million from $108.8 million in the
comparable prior year period. Six-month net income including unusual items in 2000 was $1.22 per diluted share,
reflecting receipt of $81 million from Monsanto net of related expenses and the cumulative effect of an accounting
change. No such unusual items were recorded in 2001.
Delta and Pine Land Company is a 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,
DLP also breeds, produces and markets soybean planting seed.
Company news release
N3412 |
