International revenues also increased, primarily due to higher unit sales and prices in Australia and Brazil, coupled with stronger export sales to Greece, Spain and Mexico. Sales at the Company's two joint ventures in China declined, principally due to strong competition from local varieties and reduced cotton plantings.
Operating expenses increased, largely as a result of higher research and development expenses related to developing products with new technologies, compensation costs, legal fees and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance costs.
Tom Jagodinski, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased with grower acceptance of our newer stacked trait cotton varieties and expect DP555 BG/RR and DP444 BG/RR to be the top two selling varieties planted in the U.S. this year.
They also have substantial seed production of new products containing Monsanto's second-generation traits, Bollgard II and Roundup Ready Flex, in anticipation of next year's launch of these varieties. Further, we are continuing to take steps to enhance value by returning cash to our shareholders, including the significant dividend increase and additional share repurchase authorization."
Stock Repurchase Plan D&PL also announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program to buy up to an additional $50 million of the Company's common stock. The Company anticipates that repurchases will be implemented over time through a variety of methods, which generally will include open market purchases. The timing and amount of repurchases under the program will depend on market conditions, legal restrictions and other factors.
marketing@alchempro.com
