Arden Hills, Minn. — Lake O’Lakes Inc. (LOL) said its Crop Inputs segment, including its WinField brand, slightly exceeded the record results for 2013 for the nine months ending Sept. 30, 2014. LOL said strong results for soybean seed and STAMPS (seed treatment, adjuvants, micronutrients, and plant nutrition) partly offset lower volumes of other crop protection products and corn seed. LOL also touted its Dairy Foods and Animal Nutrition segments, but said its Layers, or egg business, is no longer being reported as a separate segment as the Western and Midwestern assets have been sold and it continues to evaluate options for the Eastern assets. Company-wide, LOL reported nine-month net earnings of $227.9 million on sales of $11.46 billion, up from the year-ago $197.8 million and $10.81 billion, respectively. Third-quarter earnings were down, at $5.8 million on sales of $3.13 billion from the year-ago $49.4 million and $2.98 billion. LOL cited lower results primarily due to cyclical market devaluations that were anticipated following an exceptionally strong first-half.
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