Bunge Posts First Quarterly Loss Since It Became Public

My old company Bunge Ltd has posted its first quarterly loss since it became a publicly traded company in 2001.

The company lost $210 million, or $1.89 a share, in its Q4 2008 results - compared to net income of $245 million, or $1.82, a year earlier.

Still, 2008 hasn't exactly been a bad year for Bunge. Alberto Weisser, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said in a public statement, “In 2008, Bunge produced record results in one of the most volatile years in recent memory. We earned over $1 billion in net income for the first time and produced $2.5 billion of cash flow from operations. We start 2009 with a comfortable liquidity position and a strong balance sheet. The weak global economy will pose challenges, but we see reasons to be optimistic that conditions for our industry will improve during the course of the year."