Sales and earnings were down significantly at Syngenta Group, which said first quarter 2024 was marked by industry-wide destocking in crop protection products.
Distributors and retailers “further reduced inventories in response to the pressure to lower working capital in the higher interest rate environment,” the company said.
Sales fell from $9.2 billion in first quarter 2023 to $7.4 billion this year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and other factors dropped from $1.9 billion to $1.2 billion. Syngenta’s crop protection segment, which makes up about 40% of company sales, fell from $4.2 billion to $3.2 billion.
ADM also reported lower profits for its first quarter, but was pleased with the way it handled economic uncertainty in agriculture. First quarter net income was $729 million, down from $1.17 billion in the same quarter last year.
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But the figures exceeded Wall Street estimates, and ADM Chairmen and CEO Juan Luciano said. “ADM’s solid first quarter results showcased our team’s ability to execute our strategy with agility in the face of anticipated challenging market conditions.”
The grain and oilseed processing giant reported operating profit in its its ag services and oilseeds segment of $864 million in the first quarter, down 29% from last year’s first quarter.
Ag Services saw operating profit drop 33%, “primarily due to the stabilization of trade flows leading to lower global trade and risk management results in comparison to the prior year. Slower farmer selling also negatively impacted export volumes and margins in South America.”
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