Monsanto 3Q profit falls 14 pct, will cut 900 jobs

ST. LOUIS — Monsanto, the world's biggest seed maker, says its third-quarter profit fell 14 percent and plans to 900 jobs, or about 4 percent of its work force.

The earnings beat Wall Street's forecast. But the St. Louis-based company says the restructuring will drag down fourth-quarter profit by 41 cents to 47 cents per share.

It also says its full-year profit will be on the low end of its previous forecast of $4.40 to $4.50 per share.

Monsanto Co. said Wednesday it earned $694 million, or $1.25 per share, in the latest quarter. That's down from a profit of $811 million, or $1.45 per share, a year earlier.

Monsanto says its revenue fell 11 percent to $3.16 billion.

Analysts had been looking for earnings of $1.17 per share and revenue of $3.45 billion.

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