Monsanto Announces Big Quarterly Earnings & SEC Investigation

On the same day Creve Coeur-based Monsanto released a successful quarterly report, the agri-business giant also announced it was cooperating with an inquiry from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Before the opening bell Wednesday, announced in a statement that in the third quarter:

• Net sales increased $628 million, (21 percent).
•  Net income was $680 million.
• Gross profit rose 41 percent in the quarter to approximately $2 billion.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Morgan Stanley analyst Vincent Andrews as writing to clients that the results "should clearly signal that Monsanto has closed the door on prior year difficulties."

But the paper also reported that besides the SEC investigation, the company has also been under scrutiny by the Justice Department over soybean seeds.

The latest inquiry is connected to the company's Roundup product and concerns over "incentive" payments made to customers. Forbes reported that Monsanto Chief Executive Officer Hugh Grant declined to go into specifics Tuesday about the probe but said the company is cooperating.