Anheuser-Busch second quarter profit rises 1.8 percent

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) — The nation’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch Cos., Inc., reported a 1.8 percent rise in second-quarter profit on July 23, on higher sales of its main brands and the successful launch of Bud Light Lime.

Anheuser-Busch also said it would raise prices again starting in September, and the increases will affect the majority of its U.S. sales volume.

The St. Louis-based brewer of beers such as Budweiser and Bud Light said net income rose to $689 million for the three months ending in June from $677 million in the same period last year. Earnings per share came to 95 cents, up from 88 cents last year and above Wall Street’s expectations of 93 cents.

Revenue rose 4.1 percent to $5.3 billion from $5.1 billion. After excise taxes, net sales rose 4.6 percent to $4.7 billion from $4.5 billion a year ago.

The earnings came one week after Anheuser-Busch agreed to sell to Belgian brewer InBev SA for $52 billion. The company’s statement did not mention the deal, which is worth $70 a share.
Many questions about the deal for The King of Beers abound. InBev, the maker of brands such as Stella Artois, Beck’s and Bass, has said it wants to tap into Anheuser-Busch’s marketing power and turn its top brands, Budweiser and Bud Light, into global icons like Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

But it also wants to keep spending down. InBev is known as a quick cost-cutter after buying new companies, to boost its bottom line. Chief Executive Carlos Brito said he wants to save $1.5 billion a year by 2011 but he has also said he doesn’t want to touch Anheuser-Busch’s marketing machine.

The deal ended back-and-forth wrangling by members of the Anheuser-Busch family, and leaders in its home state of Missouri. The new company will be the world’s largest brewer, with about half the U.S. market and one-fifth of the markets in China and Russia.
In the most recent quarter, Anheuser-Busch said its market share in the U.S. slipped to 48.8 from 48.9 percent in the same quarter last year.

U.S. beer shipments to wholesalers were fairly flat in the quarter, up 0.5 percent, while sales-to-retailers were up 0.4 percent. International volume, which includes Anheuser-Busch brands brewed overseas and exports, rose 4.8 percent in the quarter on increased volumes in China, Canada and Argentina.

Worldwide volume, which includes domestic and international, gained 1.2 percent for the quarter.

Anheuser-Busch said it planned to raise prices on 85 percent of its U.S. beer volume in September and October. The company, which like much of the industry is under enormous cost pressures for key ingredients like hops and barley, said it expected to see revenue per barrel increase 4 percent this year.

The company also said its board of directors raised the regular quarterly dividend rate by 12.1 percent, to 37 cents from 33 cents. The dividend is payable Sept. 9 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 11.

Agrisoma extends collaborative agreement with Dow

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Agrisoma Biosciences, Inc. and Dow AgroSciences LLC announced an extension of their collaboration agreement to research, develop and commercialize animal health products using Agrisoma’s patented Engineered Trait Loci (ETL) technology for gene delivery and expression.

Under the terms of the agreement, Agrisoma and Dow AgroSciences will focus on certain aspects of the technology to build upon the significant progress made to date. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Agrisoma is a private agricultural biotechnology company using its leading edge ETL technology to create new crop varieties engineered for high value applications such as biofuel production and production of proteins. Agrisoma’s ETL, or Engineered Trait Loci technology, allows the assembly or stacking of multiple traits within highly productive genetic loci to efficiently express new genes.

CME and NYMEX mailing prospectus on merger

CHICAGO, Ill. — CME Group, Inc. and NYMEX Holdings, Inc. announced they have begun mailing a definitive joint proxy statement to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 18.

The companies also announced the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has declared effective the Registration Statement on Form S-4 relating to CME’s proposed acquisition of NYMEX.

CME will hold a special shareholder meeting on Aug. 18 at the Union League Club of Chicago, located at 65 West Jackson in Chicago at 3 p.m. Central Time. Also on Aug. 18, NYMEX will hold a special member meeting at 3 p.m. Eastern Time and a special shareholder meeting at 4 p.m., both located at the New York Mercantile Exchange, One North End Avenue, World Financial Center.

The transaction is subject to approvals of shareholders of both companies and of NYMEX Class A members.  Changes in Class A member rights associated with the transaction will be accomplished through amendments to the certificate of incorporation and bylaws of NYMEX which require the affirmative vote of the owners of 75 percent of the outstanding NYMEX Class A memberships. The approval of these amendments is a condition to the closing of the merger.

Subject to obtaining the necessary approvals, the companies expect to close the merger in the third quarter of 2008.  The joint proxy statement/prospectus is available at www.sec.gov or www. cmegroup.com or www.nymex.com

CME also announced it has obtained committed financing to support its acquisition of NYMEX, in the form of a $3.2 billion bridge financing facility with Bank of America and UBS.

In addition, Standard & Poor’s has assigned CME an AA rating on its long-term counterparty credit rating, and S&P and Moody’s reaffirmed the company’s short-term credit ratings of A-1+ and P-1, respectively.

The financing from Bank of America and UBS will be equal, with 50 percent ($1.6 billion) coming from each bank.

Mycogen Seeds accelerates growth of U.S. corn business

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Dow AgroSciences LLC and Mycogen Seeds announced their plan to rapidly invest and expand the U.S. corn business. Strong global demand for corn and record commodity prices are driving the investment.

Plans include hiring 50 percent more commercial sales employees along with creating new smaller sales territories within the Midwest region. Both recent graduates and more experienced employees will be recruited to fill positions that include sales representatives, agronomists and district sales managers.

The increased focus on recruitment efforts and hiring of top talent is one of many steps Dow AgroSciences is taking to ensure it meets rising demand for Mycogen branded products. Along with additional people resources, Mycogen plans to increase brand awareness through focused mass media, participation in industry events, direct mail, and training for dealers.