Corn Products International, Inc. Comments on Difficult First Quarter
April 05 2005 - 6:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
Corn Products International, Inc. Comments on Difficult First
Quarter Company Plans to Provide Annual EPS Guidance on April 19
WESTCHESTER, Ill., April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Corn Products
International, Inc. (NYSE:CPO) said today that it expects
first-quarter diluted earnings per share (EPS) to decline 35
percent to 40 percent from the first quarter of 2004, due primarily
to a combination of three factors that affected the US and Canadian
portions of its North America region: -- Net corn costs for the
quarter were significantly higher than last year's first quarter,
driven by lower co-product values and the timing of corn purchases
for contracted business. -- Energy and freight costs were higher
compared to the first quarter of 2004; and -- Manufacturing expense
problems during the quarter. Commenting on first quarter results,
Sam Scott, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Corn
Products International, said: "We are comparing US and Canadian
first-quarter 2005 results to a very strong first quarter of 2004,
which included the lowest corn costs for all of last year. However,
in addition to the expected increase in net corn and energy costs,
the unanticipated manufacturing and freight expense issues
contributed to results that were lower than our expectations.
Mexico and our other two regions, South America and Asia/Africa,
got off to a good start in 2005." Corn Products International plans
to provide guidance for the full year when it releases its first
quarter earnings on April 19, 2005. ABOUT THE COMPANY Corn Products
International, Inc. is one of the world's largest corn refiners and
a major supplier of high-quality food ingredients and industrial
products derived from the wet milling and processing of corn and
other starch- based materials. The Company is the number-one
worldwide producer of dextrose and a leading regional producer of
starch, high fructose corn syrup and glucose. In 2004, the Company
recorded net sales of $2.3 billion with operations in 16 countries
at 27 plants, including wholly owned businesses, affiliates and
alliances. Headquartered in Westchester, Ill., it was founded in
1906. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under
the symbol CPO. Additional information can be found on the World
Wide Web at http://www.cornproducts.com/ . This release contains or
may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933 and Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company intends these
forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor
provisions for such statements. These statements include, among
other things, any predictions regarding the Company's future
financial condition, earnings, revenues, expenses or other
financial items, any statements concerning the Company's prospects
or future operation, including management's plans or strategies and
objectives therefor and any assumptions underlying the foregoing.
These statements can sometimes be identified by the use of forward
looking words such as "may," "will," "anticipate," "believe,"
"plan," "project," "estimate," "expect," "intend" "continue," "pro
forma," "forecast" or other similar expressions or the negative
thereof. All statements other than statements of historical facts
in this report or referred to or incorporated by reference into
this report are "forward-looking statements." These statements
contain certain inherent risks and uncertainties. Although we
believe our expectations reflected in these forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, stockholders are
cautioned that no assurance can be given that our expectations will
prove correct. Actual results and developments may differ
materially from the expectations conveyed in these statements,
based on various factors, including fluctuations in worldwide
commodities markets and the associated risks of hedging against
such fluctuations; fluctuations in aggregate industry supply and
market demand; general political, economic, business, market and
weather conditions in the various geographic regions and countries
in which we manufacture and/or sell our products, including
fluctuations in the value of local currencies, energy costs and
availability and changes in regulatory controls regarding quotas,
tariffs, taxes and income tax rates; labor disputes; biotechnology
issues; changing consumption preferences and trends; increased
competitive and/or customer pressure in the corn-refining industry;
the outbreak or continuation of hostilities including acts of
terrorism; stock market fluctuation and volatility; and the
resolution of the current uncertainties resulting from the Mexican
HFCS tax. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date
on which they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to
update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of the statement. If we do update or
correct one or more of these statements, investors and others
should not conclude that we will make additional updates or
corrections. For a further description of risk factors, see the
Company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and
subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q or 8-K. DATASOURCE: Corn Products
International, Inc. CONTACT: Richard Vandervoort, +1-708-551-2595
(investors), or Mark Lindley, +1-708-551-2602 (media), both of Corn
Products International, Inc. Web site: http://www.cornproducts.com/
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