With a boost from soybean trading and exports, Bunge Ltd. reported a first-quarter profit of $373 million, up nearly $300 million from the same period last year.

Bunge CEO Soren Schroder said the company’s North American agribusiness operations, along with those of Brazil and Europe, performed well, which he expects to continue.

“Farmers in the Northern Hemisphere are expected to plant large crops, which should drive high asset utilizations later in the year,” he said. Managers raised their 2017 earnings target to $8.50 a share.

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