Louis Dreyfus Scraps Dividend as Tough Market Strains Profit
- Family-owned firm had paid dividends each year for past decade
- Commodities trader’s full-year profit rose 4% to $317 million
This article is for subscribers only.
Louis Dreyfus Co. suspended dividend payments to its family owners in 2017 for the first time in at least a decade as the storied food commodities merchant suffered another year of tepid profit.
The firm, controlled by 55-year-old billionaire Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, has been battling tough conditions as big harvests from Russia to Canada hurt prices and volatility, eroding trading opportunities. It said in its annual report Wednesday that it paid no dividends at all last year. That compares with average annual payouts of $270 million in the previous decade, filings show.