Monsanto Co. reported a fourth-quarter loss of...

Monsanto Co. reported a fourth-quarter loss of $340 million, compared to net income of $41 million in the same period a year earlier. For the year, it said it lost $98 million, compared to net of $439 million in 1984. The company said the losses were due to a non-recurring after-tax charge of $341 million in the final quarter as a result of restructuring its business and to the interest expense associated with its $2.8-billion acquisition of G. D. Searle & Co., the suburban Chicago company that manufactures the artificial sweetener NutraSweet.