Bunge Ltd., St. Louis, reported a strong year for fertilizer in 2020. For the year ending Dec. 31, the segment had adjusted EBIT of $85 million, up 37 percent from 2019’s $62 million. Volumes were up 2 percent to 1.54 million mt from the year-ago 1.51 million mt. Gross profit was $98 million on net sales of $484 million, up from 2019’s $78 million and $520 million, respectively.
Bunge expects fertilizer results to be down in 2021, from a strong year in 2020.
Fourth-quarter fertilizer results were more level with year-ago totals. Adjusted EBIT of $32 million matched the year-ago quarter. Volumes were 501,000 mt, up from 495,000 mt. Gross profit was $37 million on sales of $160 million, up from the year-ago $34 million and $165 million, respectively.
Company-wide, Bunge reported full-year net income attributable to the company of $1.15 billion ($7.71 per diluted share) on net sales of $41.4 billion, up from 2019’s loss of $1.28 billion ($9.34 per share) and $41.1 billion, respectively. Total EBIT was $1.63 billion, up from the year-ago loss of $891 million.
Fourth-quarter net income was $551 million ($3.74 per share) on sales of $12.6 billion, up from the year-ago loss of $51 million ($0.48 per share) and $10.8 billion, respectively. Total EBIT was $714 million, up from the year-ago $44 million.
Bunge posted earnings that topped analyst expectations, benefiting from record corn and soybean exports in the fourth quarter and strong margins for oilseed processing.
As with fertilizer, Bunge does not expect to best 2020 on a company-wide basis, anticipating full-year 2021 adjusted EPS of $6.00 compared to 2020’s $8.30.
CEO Greg Heckman cautioned that uncertainty over crop size and harvest timing in South America, as well as the upcoming North American growing season, will help to determine how well Bunge performs this year. However, he said the company expects the favorable market environment to continue into 2021, reflecting strong and growing demand, as well as tight supplies.