MERRIAM, KANSAS, US — Seaboard Corp. posted operating income of $43 million in its Commodity Trading and Milling (CT&M) segment during the first quarter ended April 1, up 258% from $12 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Seaboard said the increase in operating income primarily reflected the change of $25 million in mark-to-market adjustments on derivative contracts.

Had Seaboard not applied mark-to-market accounting to its derivative instruments, operating income in the segment would have been $36 million, up from $30 million in the same period a year ago.

Net sales for the segment during the most recent quarter totaled $1.34 billion, down 14% from $1.57 billion in the same period a year ago. The decrease primarily reflected lower volumes of certain commodities sold due to increased competition that reduced net sales by $321 million. The decrease was partially offset by higher sales prices on certain commodities due to commodity price fluctuations that increased net sales by $95 million, Seaboard said.

In a May 3 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Seaboard said it invested $111 million in property, plant and equipment in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, of which $81 million was in the Pork segment and $28 million was in the Marine segment. For the remainder of 2023, Seaboard said management has budgeted capital expenditures totaling $595 million.

Overall, Seaboard in the first quarter sustained a loss of $16 million, which compared with income of $103 million, equal to $89.28 per share on the common stock, in the same period a year ago. Net sales were $2.5 billion, down 7.8% from $2.71 billion in the same period a year ago.