Monsanto Q4 Loss Widens On Expenses; To Buy Climate Corp. For Approx. $930 Mln

(RTTNews) - Monsanto Company (MON) reported that its fourth-quarter net loss attributable to company widened to $249 million or $0.47 per share, from $229 million or $0.42 per share, prior year. For the fourth quarter, loss per share was $0.47 from ongoing basis, also.

On average, 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.43 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net Sales increased to $2.20 billion, from $2.10 billion prior year. Total operating expenses increased to $1.21 billion, from $1.14 billion prior year. Analysts expected revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter.

Monsanto announced a definitive agreement to acquire The Climate Corporation for a cash purchase price of approximately $930 million. The acquisition combines Monsanto's R&D capabilities with The Climate Corporation's analytical expertise.

The Climate Corporation was founded in 2006 by a highly successful team of software engineers and data scientists formerly with Google and other leading Silicon Valley technology companies. Since that time, the company has built the agriculture industry's most advanced technology platform combining hyper-local weather monitoring, agronomic data modeling, and high-resolution weather simulations to deliver a complete suite of full-season monitoring, analytics and risk-management products.

Following the acquisition, the Climate Corporation will operate its business to retain its distinct brand identity and customer experience. The company will continue to maintain headquarters in Silicon Valley and all of its employees will be offered continued employment.

In fiscal 2014, Monsanto expects to achieve earnings per share of $5.00 to $5.20 after approximately $0.14 of dilution related to the Climate Corporation acquisition. Analysts expect the company to report fiscal 2014 earnings per share of $5.33.