Agribusiness Q3 2024 Earnings Results Week of November 4th to November 8th
Index
Corteva
Nutrien
CNH Industrial
AGCO
Valmont
Lavoro
Novonesis
CHS
Note: Once all companies have reported their earnings there will be an aggregated report completed by agribusiness segment exclusively for Upstream Ag Professional members:
Crop Protection and Seed Companies
Fertilizer Manufacturers
Equipment Manufacturers
Each report will include macro trends and themes, along with useful comparison charts and images.
Access Upstream Ag Financial Data and Create Custom Dashboards
Are you looking to develop deep financial performance understanding of the world of agribusiness?
The Upstream Ag Insights Excel workbooks provide you with the financial data you need to have the deepest understanding of the agribusiness landscape and stay ahead of the competition.
Covering over two years of detailed financial information from industry leaders such as Bayer Crop Science, Corteva, Syngenta, BASF, Mosaic, John Deere, Yara, Nutrien, ICL and more, these workbooks are your gateway to establish the deepest understanding of what is going on with the most influential agribusiness entities in the world.
This data was compiled by Chartered Financial Analysts and put into Excel Workbooks that make any agribusiness professional capable of creating valuable charts, building useful pivot tables, gaining a deeper understanding of industry trends and seamlessly comparing each company to one another.
Purchase the three Excel Workbooks below for just $179:
Macro Commentary
There was mention of farmer sentiment growing on some calls (specifically ag equipment as challenges grew in Q3 for the likes of AGCO), which is confirmed by the Purdue Ag Economy Barometer:
Farmer sentiment saw an unexpected surge in October ahead of the upcoming U.S. election, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. The index rose to 115, marking a 27-point increase from September. This boost in sentiment was primarily driven by a rise in producers’ confidence in the future, with the Future Expectations Index jumping 30 points to 124. While the Current Conditions Index also improved, reaching 95, it still reflected farmers’ concerns that economic conditions this year are worse than last year and weaker than the barometer’s base period of 2015-16 during the early days of a multiyear downturn in the U.S. farm economy. Despite current challenges, the October survey indicated some optimism among producers that economic conditions may strengthen, avoiding an extended downturn in the farm economy.
Nutrien Q3 2024 Earnings Results - Nutrien
Summary
Sales - Q3 sales of $5.35 billion, down 5% YoY; nine-month sales decreased 11% to $20.9 billion.
Adjusted EBITDA - Reached $1.0 billion in Q3, down from $1.08 billion in Q3 2023.
Net Earnings - Nutrien reported Q3 net earnings of $25 million, primarily impacted by a drop in potash prices despite record sales volumes.
Adjusted EBITDA - Adjusted EBITDA for Q3 was $1.0 billion, a 7% YoY decrease, driven by lower potash and retail earnings, offset by higher nitrogen prices.
Potash Segment - Potash EBITDA decreased 9% YoY due to reduced prices, though record sales volumes and lower production costs mitigated some impacts.
Nitrogen Segment - Adjusted EBITDA increased 21% YoY, supported by higher ammonia prices, though lower year-to-date sales were seen.
Retail (Nutrien Ag Solutions)
Q3 Sales - Declined by 6% to $3.27 billion due to lower crop nutrient volumes and seed margins, especially in Brazil. North America and Australia were generally positive.
Adjusted EBITDA - Fell by 23% to $151 million for the quarter, reflecting unfavorable conditions that reduced pest pressure and activity levels, especially in North America.
Gross Margin - Increased for the first nine months due to improved North American margins, particularly in crop nutrients and protection products.
Nutrien Financial sales and gross margin increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2024.
Sales of proprietary products as a percentage of total segment gross margin were down across crop nutrients, crop protection and seed (9 months data):
The projected earnings for Nutrien Ag Solutions aren’t strong relative to recent growth:
Potash
Net Sales - $884 million, down 9% YoY, with gross margin down 21% due to lower prices.
Sales Volumes - Record levels at 4.15 million tonnes in Q3, supported by strong demand in North America, Latin America, and Asia.
Average Net Selling Price - $213/tonne, reflecting a YoY decrease from $250/tonne.
Cost of Goods Sold - Lower COGS due to production efficiencies, though partially offset by higher depreciation costs.
Nitrogen
Net Sales - Up 10% to $793 million in Q3, driven by increased ammonia prices.
Gross Margin - Grew 38% to $212 million, helped by lower natural gas costs and improved production reliability.
Adjusted EBITDA - Increased 21% YoY to $355 million, supported by a favorable pricing environment for ammonia.
Sales Volumes - Improved across all major nitrogen products, including ammonia and urea.
Phosphate
Net Sales - Declined 7% to $412 million, mainly due to reduced sales volumes.
Gross Margin - Marginal increase to $29 million, as higher prices were offset by input cost rises related to weather events.
Adjusted EBITDA - Was stable at $89 million; however, weather-related production interruptions impacted total output.
Regional Highlights
North America - Benefited from strong fall application demand following an early harvest. Retail and potash volumes remained strong, offsetting some earlier third-quarter field activity declines.
Brazil - Delays in soybean planting affected seed margins, and challenges in the retail segment weighed on overall performance.
Executive Commentary
CEO Ken Seitz on nutrient margins in the retail business: