(Dow Jones) -- As agriculture
company Bunge takes steps to potentially separate its sugar milling
business, it's shutting down its division that trades sugar around the
world, executives say. "It's a hypercompetitive business," says CEO
Soren Schroder on 4Q earnings call, saying that the division struggled
over the past year to generate profit margins big enough to cover its
costs of operating. Schroder says Bunge's Brazilian sugar milling unit
can continue to manage its own price risk without the trading business,
as Bunge continues to work toward a possible sale or spinoff. Bunge's
sugar and bioenergy unit reported a $4M loss for the quarter, improved
from a $53M loss the prior year.
