Reuters | October 21, 1999
ST. LOUIS - Life sciences firm Monsanto Co. was cited as saying Thursday its third-quarter profits fell further than expected but sales of its blockbuster arthritis drug Celebrex grew.
Monsanto, the maker of Roundup herbicide, NutraSweet artificial sweetener and many other products, said it earned $58 million, or 9 cents per diluted share, excluding a one-time gain from the reversal of an earlier restructuring charge and a charge related to integrating the company's agricultural chemical and seed operations. Including the one-time items, net income was $49 million, or 8 cents per share.
Last year, Monsanto earned $87 million, or 14 cents per share, before a $187 million write-off of acquired in-process research and development.
Including the charge, Monsanto lost $100 million, or 17 cents per share.
Robert Shapiro, chairman and chief executive officer, was quoted as saying in a statement that, "Our results are on target to meet the financial goals we set one year ago. Throughout the year, our agricultural business has performed well in a difficult agricultural economy, driven by sales of Roundup herbicide and seed with our agricultural biotechnology traits."
