Soros Cut Stake in Agri Giant ADM as Ethanol Margins Shrank

(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire George Soros has cut his holdings in agriculture giant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. by more than half as the company contends with sluggish commodity markets amid the U.S.-China trade war.

Soros Fund Management LLC held 325,000 ADM shares at the end of the fourth quarter, a filing showed Thursday. That’s down from 720,000 shares in the third quarter.

ADM, one of the biggest U.S. biofuel producers, this month reported fourth-quarter profit that trailed analysts’ estimates, its first earnings miss in more than a year. Profit was dragged down as the absence of Chinese purchases of U.S. supplies added to a glut of ethanol. Shares of the company are little-changed over the past year.

News of the Soros move came on the same day that a series of reports showed a deepening malaise enveloping the U.S. agricultural economy. The trade war has threatened to undermine demand for products ranging from apricots to soybeans after China slapped retaliatory duties on American goods.

Ethanol, made from corn, has been under pressure in particular. Todd Becker, chief executive officer of biofuel maker Green Plains Inc., said Monday that his industry may have burned through about $1 billion in cash to weather a tough 2018. China has 70 percent tariffs on the U.S. fuel additive.

To contact the reporter on this story: Millie Munshi in Denver at mmunshi@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net, Simon Casey

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