Louis Dreyfus net profit for the first half of 2017 increased by 16%

The Groupreported a consolidated net income, Group Share, of US$160 million, up from US$135 million one year ago.

Highlights for the six-month period ended June 30th, 2017:

• net sales of US$27.7 billion, compared to US$23.5 billion over the same period in 2016
• income before tax of US$206 million, compared to US$151 million in June 2016
• segment Operating Results at US$602 million, compared to US$546 million in the same semester last year
• net income, Group Share, at US$160 million, compared to US$135 million for the same semester one year before
• volumes up by 8% compared to the first six months of 2016
• capital expenditure of US$120 million over the half year, compared to US$132 million over the same period in 2016
• return on equity, Group Share, of 6.3%, up from 5.5% in the first half of 2016

"The half year results, in what continues to be a fundamentally challenging market for the agricultural sector, show our ability to adapt to constantly evolving conditions through the diversity of our platforms, and that our customer-centric and entrepreneurial mindset is helping us to deliver solid results," said Gonzalo Ramírez Martiarena, Chief Executive Officer of Louis Dreyfus Company. "We are starting to see renewed optimism, most notably in Europe, but still recognize the need for flexibility to adjust our geographic and operational footprint. We have successfully begun a divestment process for some non-strategic assets and since closing the first half of the year, we have also entered into an agreement to sell our African fertilizers and inputs business."