Paris — Louis Dreyfus Company, one the world’s largest agricultural commodity traders, said adjustments to its hedging policy for soya beans contributed to a fall in first-half profits, but would benefit its full-year results. Louis Dreyfus said group net profit, including discontinued operations, had fallen to $100m from $160m. Excluding divested assets, notably its profitable metal trading business, net income dropped to $67m from $134m. The lower earnings come at a sensitive time for the 167-year-old company, which has just undergone a management shake-up. The company’s controlling shareholder, Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, needs to find $2bn to support debt-laden Brazilian sugar unit Biosev and buy out family minorities.
However, echoing comments by CEO Ian McIntosh after his appointment two weeks ago, the company said it was expecting a decent year. "The lower net income reflects a temporarily negative mark-to-market recognised by the group as of June 30, attributable to our h...
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