Corteva releases Q2024 XNUMX results

Corteva announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2024. It highlighted challenges faced due to market dynamics in Latin America. These factors negatively influenced sales and pressured the company's profitability.

In the third quarter of 2024, Corteva's net sales totaled US$2,33 billion, a decrease of 10% compared to the same period in 2023.

This reduction reflects a challenging scenario, especially in Latin America, where sales fell by 19% (10% in organic terms) due, in part, to the reduction in the area planted with corn in Argentina and the competitive pressure affecting the prices of crop protection products.

This context led to an 8% reduction in global prices, with emphasis on the impacts on the Crop Protection and Seed businesses.

In Latin America, demand for new products helped mitigate volume losses in the crop protection segment. However, strong competition and the appreciation of the Brazilian real negatively affected prices in the region, highlighting competitive pressure in the local agricultural market.

Seed sector

Corteva’s seed segment was particularly hard hit, with sales down 21% to $691 million in the quarter. The 12% decline in volumes was driven by lower corn acreage in Argentina, while prices fell 5% due to higher end-of-harvest sales in North America.

This result also reflects the unfavorable exchange rate effects in Latin America and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), which contributed to the 4% decline in sales. Despite the adversities, the average seed price in the year to date increased by 4%, with consistent demand for cutting-edge technologies.

Crop protection

The crop protection segment reported net sales of approximately US$1,6 billion, down 4% compared to the third quarter of 2023.

However, volume increased by 11%, driven by the introduction of new products and growth in demand for spinosyns and biologics, especially in North and Latin America.

The operating EBITDA margin for this segment improved by 430 basis points, indicating efficiency and cost control, even in the face of price reductions and exchange rate challenges.

Outlook for 2024 and 2025

For 2024, Corteva has adjusted its financial guidance, projecting annual revenue of between $17,0 billion and $17,2 billion, a slight contraction from the previous year. Operating EBITDA is expected to be between $3,35 billion and $3,45 billion, with operating earnings per share between $2,50 and $2,60. The company also expects free cash flow to be between $1,5 billion and $2,0 billion.

For 2025, Corteva maintains a moderate growth outlook, with sales forecasts of up to US$17,7 billion and a 12% increase in operating EBITDA.