MERRIAM, KANSAS — Seaboard Corp. posted operating income of $33 million in its Commodity Trading and Milling (CT&M) segment during the third quarter ended Sept. 30, down 33% from $49 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Seaboard said the decrease in operating income primarily reflected lower margins resulting from lower sales prices.

Had Seaboard not applied mark-to-market accounting to its derivative instruments, operating income in the segment would have been $35 million, down from $48 million in the same period a year ago.

Net sales for the segment during the most recent quarter totaled $1.25 billion, down 22% from $1.6 billion in the same period a year ago. The decrease primarily reflected lower average sales prices as a result of commodity price fluctuations, Seaboard said.

In an Oct. 30 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Seaboard said it invested $344 million in property, plant and equipment in the first nine months of fiscal 2023, of which $247 million was in the Pork segment and $81 million was in the Marine segment. For the remainder of 2023, Seaboard said management has budgeted capital expenditures totaling $240 million.