ADM Reports First Quarter 2012 Earnings of $460 Million or $0.68 per Share

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today reported financial
results for the quarter ended September 30, 2011. The company reported
net earnings for the quarter of $460 million, or $0.68 per share, up 33
percent and 26 percent respectively from the same period one year
earlier. Adjusted earnings per share¹?which excludes the
impact of LIFO and other adjustments?of $0.58 was 13 percent lower than
the prior year quarter. Segment operating profit¹ was $699
million, down 9 percent from the prior year quarter.

'The first quarter presented a difficult and challenging market
environment,? said ADM Chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz. 'Margin
conditions in our global oilseeds segment were generally weak, and net
corn costs were high. We offset some of these pressures with good
management of our commodity positions and by capturing opportunities
through our broad and diverse portfolio.?

'During the quarter, we acquired oilseeds facilities in Poland and
India, and expanded our agricultural services operations to support
exports. And we returned capital to shareholders through dividends and
share buybacks of $347 million,? added Woertz. 'Looking ahead, we see
the margin environment modestly improving, and we are optimistic about
the long term.?

First Quarter 2012 Highlights

• 
  Adjusted EPS of $0.58 excludes a LIFO gain of $0.11 and debt exchange
  costs of $0.01.
  
• 
  Oilseeds Processing profit declined $87 million amid a challenging
  global oilseed crushing environment; however, ADM′s diverse oilseed
  portfolio helped offset some of this weakness.
  
• 
  Corn Processing profit decreased $162 million as net corn costs more
  than doubled from the prior year; net corn costs for the quarter were
  negatively impacted by economic hedging benefits recognized in prior
  quarters.
  
• 
  Agricultural Services profit increased $112 million on strong global
  merchandising results, including a strong recovery of exports from the
  Black Sea region.
  
• 
  Other businesses improved by $71 million on the strength of improved
  cocoa press margins and smaller losses in the captive insurance
  subsidiary.
  
• 
  ADM returned $347 million to shareholders in the quarter, including
  buying back 8.6 million shares for $240 million.
  

Adjusted EPS of 58 Cents, down 9 Cents

Adjusted EPS declined primarily as segment operating profit was lower by
$66 million ($46 million, after tax, or $0.07 per share). Additionally,
a higher outstanding share balance resulted in a dilutive impact of
$0.04 per share. Corporate costs this quarter were similar to last
year′s quarter, after excluding the impacts of LIFO, losses on interest
rate swaps, and debt exchange costs.

The company′s effective income tax rate for the quarter was 30 percent,
based on the forecast geographic mix of earnings for fiscal year 2012.

Diversity of Oilseeds Portfolio Mitigates Challenging Margin
Environment

Oilseeds operating profit in the first quarter was $221 million, down
$87 million from the same period one year earlier.

Crushing and origination operating profit fell $61 million to $115
million. A weak margin environment for global soybean crushing and
European rapeseed crushing depressed earnings. That impact was mitigated
by stronger results from ADM′s North American softseed businesses and
South American origination.

Refining, packaging, biodiesel and other generated a profit of $49
million for the quarter, down $27 million, as good North American
biodiesel demand and strong volumes and margins of protein specialty
products offset lower results from South America and Europe.

Oilseeds results in Asia for the quarter were in line with last year,
principally reflecting ADM′s share of the results from equity investee
Wilmar International Limited.

Additional highlights from the quarter include:

• 
  Purchasing a majority share of Elstar Oils S.A., a leading Polish
  manufacturer of refined vegetable oils, fats and biodiesel.
  
• 
  Expanding operations in the growing Indian oilseeds market through the
  acquisition of two soybean processing facilities.
  
• 
  Announcing plans to grow grain and rapeseed storage capacity through
  the construction of four new silos at Magdeburg, Germany.
  
• 
  Shuttering a soybean processing facility at Galesburg, Ill.,
  consolidating production to more efficient operations.
  

Corn Processing Portfolio Demand Remains Solid; Earnings Impacted by
Higher Net Corn Costs

Corn processing operating profit was $179 million, down $162 million
from the same period one year earlier. Processed volumes were up 5
percent, though overall net corn costs more than doubled from the first
quarter of last year.

Sweeteners and starches operating profit decreased $118 million to $28
million, as higher net corn costs more than offset higher average
selling prices and sales volumes. Export demand for sweeteners remained
strong. Net corn costs for sweeteners and starches were negatively
impacted by corn futures economic hedging benefits recognized in prior
quarters.

Bioproducts profit in the quarter decreased $44 million to $151 million.
Lysine and spot ethanol margins in the quarter were good. Offsetting the
margin benefit, ADM ownership gains were lower than the prior year.

Agricultural Services Benefitted by Capturing Global Merchandising
Opportunities

Agricultural Services operating profit was $244 million, up $112 million
from the same period one year earlier.

Merchandising and handling earnings increased primarily due to stronger
global merchandising results, including a strong recovery of exports
from the Black Sea region.

Earnings from transportation operations were steady despite lower U.S.
grain export volumes.

Additional highlights from the quarter include:

• 
  Growing origination-through-export network with a group of
  acquisitions and construction projects along the Danube River in
  Romania.
  
• 
  Supporting U.S. export capabilities with plans to build shuttle-train
  loading elevators in St. Joseph Township, Minn., and, through a joint
  venture, in Park River, N.D.
  
• 
  Expanding origination footprint into Wisconsin by acquiring nine grain
  elevators.
  

Other Businesses Improve on Stronger Cocoa Press Margins, While
Timing Adjustments Impacted Results

In the first quarter, profit from ADM′s Other business units was $55
million, up $71 million from the same period one year earlier.

In other processing, which includes wheat milling, cocoa and ADM′s
equity share of Gruma, S.A.B. de C.V., profits rose $33 million to $59
million, on stronger cocoa press margins. Wheat milling results remained
strong. Results in the segment were negatively impacted by $58 million
in mark-to-market net timing adjustments in cocoa. Last year′s results
were impacted by a similar amount of net timing adjustments.

Other financial increased $38 million mainly due to improved results of
ADM′s captive insurance subsidiary. This quarter, ADM completed the sale
of a majority stake of Hickory Point Bank, FSB.

Current Landscape Assessment

The U.S. harvest is nearing completion, with a smaller crop than last
year. Global supply is adequate for soybeans and wheat, but tighter in
corn. Global demand for crops and agricultural products continues to be
solid. Global protein meal demand continues to grow, driven by emerging
economies. U.S. corn sweetener capacity remains tight, driven by strong
export demand. With positive blending economics, U.S. ethanol
consumption remains at maximum blendable levels.

Ethanol spot margins should continue to be good in the near term. The
company is contracting with corn sweetener customers and is optimistic
for 2012 calendar year pricing and margins. There has been modest margin
improvement in soybean and rapeseed crush, and ADM will continue to
leverage the diversity and strength of its oilseed business portfolio.
More of the world′s demand for agricultural commodities will be met with
non-U.S. supply, and ADM will leverage its global asset base to help
meet this demand.

Conference Call Information

ADM will host a conference call and audio webcast at 8 a.m. Central Time
on Tuesday, November 1, 2011, to discuss financial results and provide a
company update. A financial summary slide presentation will be available
to download approximately 60 minutes prior to the call. To listen to the
call via the Internet or to download the slide presentation, go to www.adm.com/webcast.
To listen by telephone, dial 888-522-5398 in the U.S. or 706-902-2121 if
calling from outside the U.S.; the access code is 16376846. Replay of
the call will be available from 11:30 a.m. Central Time on November 1 to
November 7, 2011. To listen to the replay by telephone, dial
855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406; the access code is 16376846. To listen to
the replay online, visit www.adm.com/webcast.

About ADM

For more than a century, the people of Archer Daniels Midland Company
(NYSE: ADM) have transformed crops into products that serve vital needs.
Today, 30,000 ADM employees around the globe convert oilseeds, corn,
wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, chemical and energy
uses. With more than 265 processing plants, 400 crop procurement
facilities, and the world′s premier crop transportation network, ADM
helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 160 countries. For
more information about ADM and its products, visit www.adm.com.

¹ Non-GAAP financial measures, see pages 5 and 10 for
explanations and reconciliations

Total segment operating profit is ADM′s consolidated income from
operations before income tax that includes interest expense of each
segment relating to financing operating working capital. Management
believes that segment operating profit is a useful measure of ADM′s
performance because it provides investors information about ADM′s
business unit performance excluding certain corporate overhead and
impacts of its capital structure. Total segment operating profit is a
non-GAAP financial measure and is not intended to replace earnings
before income tax, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.
Total segment operating profit is not a measure of consolidated
operating results under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as an
alternative to income before income taxes or any other measure of
consolidated operating results under U.S. GAAP.

For reference purposes, adjusted EPS by quarter for fiscal 2011 is as
follows:

Adjusted EPS is ADM′s fully diluted EPS after removal of the effect on
EPS of certain specified items as more fully described above. Management
believes that Adjusted EPS is a useful measure of ADM′s performance
because it provides investors information about ADM′s operations
allowing better evaluation of ongoing business performance. Adjusted EPS
is a non-GAAP financial measure and is not intended to replace or be an
alternative to EPS, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure,
or any other measures of operating results under GAAP. Earnings amounts
in the tables above have been divided by the company′s diluted shares
outstanding for each respective quarter in order to arrive at an
adjusted EPS amount for each specified item.

Archer Daniels Midland Company

Media Relations:

David
Weintraub, 217-424-5413

or

Investor Relations:

Dwight
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