partnering for the future of $331 million. In November 2004, we redeemed preferred shares of a subsidiary for $170 million. Dividends paid to our shareholders in 2004 were $51 million. In 2003, we used cash flow from the net proceeds from the sales of businesses to reduce borrowings on short and long-term debt. In 2003, we issued $800 million of senior notes. In 2003, Mutual Investment Limited, the former sole shareholder of Bunge Limited, repaid in full a $55 million note owed to us. Dividends paid to our shareholders during 2003 were $42 million. 2003 Compared to 2002 In 2003, our cash and cash equivalents balance increased $19 million, reflecting the net impact of cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities, compared to a $271 million increase in our cash and cash equivalents  balance in 2002. Our operating activities used cash of $41 million in 2003, com- pared to cash generated of $128 million in 2002. Through the third quarter of 2003, our cash flows provided by operations were $638 million. However, the increase in soy commodity market prices in the latter half of December 2003 resulted in significant farmer selling, which increased our use of cash that was needed to acquire inventories. Also reflected in the cash flow from oper- ations was the $57 million paid in 2003 in connection with the  settlement agreement relating to the sale of Ducros by Cereol. Cash generated by investing activities was $101 million for 2003, compared to cash used of $1,071 million in 2002. Investments in property, plant and equipment of $304 million consisted  primarily of additions under our normal capital expenditure plan.  Of this amount, $98 million represented maintenance capital expenditures in 2003, compared to $117 million in 2002. Main- tenance capital expenditures are expenditures made to replace existing equipment in order to maintain current production capacity. The majority of non-maintenance capital expenditures in 2003 related to efficiency improvements to reduce costs, equipment upgrades and business expansion. The increase in capital expenditures in 2003 over 2002 was primarily due to the acquisition of Cereol. In 2003, we received net proceeds of $532 million from the  sale of our Brazilian soy ingredients business, Lesieur and our U.S. bakery operations. We also received $41 million relating  to Lesieur’s intercompany debt due us. We used $23 million to acquire the remaining 2.62% of Cereol’s outstanding shares that we did not already own and we paid an additional purchase price of $42 million to Edison and Cereol’s former public shareholders. In addition, in 2003, we acquired additional shares in Fosfertil for $84 million, and we completed certain smaller acquisitions in India and Eastern Europe having an aggregate purchase price of approximately $37 million. In 2002, we used cash of $741 million (net of cash acquired) to acquire Cereol and $94 million to acquire shares held by minority shareholders in connection with the cor- porate restructuring of our Brazilian subsidiaries and to acquire La Plata Cereal in Argentina. Cash used in financing activities was $102 million in 2003,  compared to cash generated of $1,295 million in 2002. In 2003, we used cash flow from the net proceeds from the sales of  businesses to reduce borrowings on short and long-term debt.  In 2003, we issued $800 million of senior notes and, in 2002, we issued $686 million of senior notes and $250 million of  convertible notes. In 2003, Mutual Investment Limited repaid  in full the $55 million note owed to us. Dividends paid to our shareholders during 2002 were $37 million. In 2002, we gener- ated cash by selling common shares in a public offering for net proceeds of $293 million. Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements In 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) issued EITF Issue No. 04-2,  Whether Mineral Rights Are Tangible or Intangible Assets (Issue No. 04-2) and the proposed Staff Position (FSP) No. FAS 141-a and 142-a,  Interaction of FASB Statements No.141, Business Combinations and No.142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets and EITF Issue No. 04-2, Whether Mineral Rights Are Tangible or Intangible Assets (FSP No. FAS 141-a and 142-a). FSP No. FAS 141-a and 142-a were issued to eliminate the inconsistency between EITF Issue No. 04-2 and Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No.141 and SFAS No.142 that mineral rights are tangible assets under EITF Issue No. 04-2 and the characterization of mineral rights as intangible assets in SFAS No.141 and No.142. We have applied EITF Issue No. 04-2 and the proposed FSP No. FAS 141-a and 142-a to our consolidated balance sheets beginning in the first quarter of 2004 and have reclassified the prior period consolidated balance sheet to conform to the 2004 presentation. The reclas- sification at December 31, 2003 was $208 million, resulting in an increase to property, plant and equipment, net and a corre- sponding decrease in other intangible assets in the consolidated balance sheets. 45 recent accounting pronouncements