As the end of their fiscal years comes today, Monsanto (NYSE:MON) has started to manage expectations by lowering their earnings estimates, saying they see things coming in on the low, and not the high end of their projections.
The company will also take a one-time restructuring charge for its latest quarter of $150 million. Monsanto also said they're going to cut up to 700 more jobs as well.
Profits for the year were estimated at a range of $2.40 to $2.60, and are expected to finish the year at $2.40 to $2.45 a share.
In somewhat of a contradiction, the company said they had a "solid" fourth quarter, and gave no reason for the lower numbers.
But it's no secret the major reasons are their faltering "Roundup" herbicide business, and the need to lower prices of new seed products in order to compete; something they haven't had to do much in the past.
The cuts weren't small either, coming in at 75 percent for their Roundup Ready 2 seeds and the 67 percent for their Smartstax seeds.
DuPont (NYSE:DD) has positioned themselves as a low-cost alternative, putting the question in the mind of farmers if they need the extra traits offered by Monsanto, which cost more.
The combination of these two things has been the major factors in lower earnings for Monsanto.
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