CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US — Diminished volatility and softer volume trends weighed on the profitability of Ardent Mills LLC in the first quarter ended Aug. 25.

Information about the company’s financial results were included in a Form 10-Q filed by Conagra Brands, Inc. Oct. 2 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Equity method earnings at Conagra, which holds a 44% stake in Ardent Mills, were $29.1 million in the quarter, down 18% from $35.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

“Ardent Mills’ earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 continued to reflect slightly lower volume trends as seen throughout the industry,” Conagra said in its filing.

The results marked a continued erosion in Ardent Mills’ profitability from peak levels hit in recent years. First-quarter profits were $49.2 million in fiscal 2023 and $22 million in fiscal 2022. Profits did not reach $20 million in the first quarters of either fiscal 2020 or fiscal 2021.

Dave Marberger, David S. Marberger, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Conagra.

| Credit: ©CONAGRA

In remarks during a Conagra analyst call Oct. 2, David S. Marberger, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Conagra, highlighted the lack of market volatility as a key to the lower Ardent Mills’ earnings.

“Our Ardent Mills joint venture continued to perform well in its core flour business but delivered lower commodity revenue in Q1 compared to last year due to lower market volatility,” he said.

For the full 2025 fiscal year, Ardent Mills had offered guidance of $150 million in equity earnings, and an analyst asked the Conagra executives whether the milling business remained on track to hit the full-year target. Marberger said Conagra’s optimism about Ardent Mills was grounded in the company’s strong core results. He conceded that reaching the profit target for the year will require greater market volatility than has prevailed to date.

“Ardent’s results can fluctuate based on volatility with the wheat market,” he said. “So the core business of Ardent and the milling and selling of flour products at a margin is very strong. They do a great job servicing customers. The remaining business is this commodity revenue, and that’s the more volatile part of the business. And it can be volatile where it’s a bit down and then it can go the other way and be positive. So we’re holding our forecast for the year with Ardent. There is going to be some volatility, but we were a little bit softer than we wanted to be in Q1, but we’re holding the year right now because the volatility can really swing both ways.”

In the SEC filing, Conagra said the company in the first quarter paid $16.9 million of withholding taxes previously accrued in connection with the restructuring of its ownership interest in Ardent Mills. The restructuring was effected in fiscal 2021. At the time, Conagra took a $115.6 million non-cash tax benefit in connection with the restructuring.

Other owners of Ardent Mills, the largest milling company in the United States, include Cargill (44% share) and CHS (12%).