At ADM, Crop Prices Cut Both Ways

Updated Feb. 5, 2008 12:01 a.m. ET

Higher crop prices were a double-edged sword for Archer Daniels Midland Co. in its fiscal second quarter.

Its ethanol production continued to be squeezed by lower prices for the biofuel and higher corn costs, but the company posted a 7% profit rise as bumper U.S. crops helped it capitalize on higher prices for grains, including corn, through its grain-handling services.

Operating profit in its agricultural-services business,...

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