Minnetonka-based Cargill, one of the world’s largest privately held companies, recorded net earnings of $883 million, up 68 percent, in its fiscal first quarter, which ended Aug. 31. Excluding earnings from its majority investment in Mosaic Co., a publicly traded Plymouth-based fertilizer producer, Cargill earned $693 million, up 51 percent from the same time last year.
Results in Cargill’s origination and processing businesses, which include transporting and processing commodities such as soybeans, also rose significantly. Also, market volatility and changes in trade flows — for instance, a big drought that has affected Russian grain production — have helped that business.