Corn Products International 1Q Income

WESTCHESTER, Ill.Corn Products International, Inc., a provider of agriculturally derived ingredients, reported 2010 first-quarter net income of $43 million, compared to $17 million reported for the same period last year. First-quarter 2010 earnings per diluted common share were $0.57, up 159 percent compared to $0.22 in the first quarter of 2009. Diluted weighted average shares outstanding in the first quarter of 2010 were 76.4 million, up from 75.4 million in the same quarter last year.

"We are very pleased with the business recovery," said Ilene Gordon, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We experienced double-digit volume increases, improved gross profit margins and favorable currencies compared with the first quarter of last year. The improvements are reflected in the 84 percent increase in operating income. All three regions performed better than last year. We are seeing a strong economic recovery in many of our international markets. In North America, we saw volume improvement across virtually all product categories, led by strong demand from the beverage industry in Mexico. In South America, volume growth was led by our customers in the brewing, confectionery, processed foods, and packaging industries. Volume improvement in Asia/Africa was led by customer demand for sweeteners in South Korea and the start of the economic recovery in Southeast Asia."