Nutrien Ltd. has been eyeing the divestment of assets in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, and has ended its asset buying spree in Brazil, according to a Reuters report, which also said some eight senior Latam executives have been fired or left the company within the past year. The actions were reportedly in response to deep losses in the region and came from unidentified people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Nutrien told analysts last fall that it had paused additional investments in Brazil until there is greater stabilization of the market (GM Nov. 3, 2023). “We will utilize this period to integrate recent acquisitions and optimize our cost structure,” said Pedro Farah, Executive Vice President and CFO.
Farah said at the time that the company still believed the long-term prospects for agriculture in Brazil are strong and it sees opportunity for future growth of its retail platform. It reiterated this position in financial filings on Feb. 22, 2024.
In full-year 2023, Nutrien recognized a $465 million non-cash impairment primarily to goodwill relating to its Retail – South American assets, mainly due to the impact of crop input price volatility, more moderate long-term growth assumptions, and higher interest rates.
Brazil also saw continued margin compression due to decreased prices for certain crop protection products and the selling through of high-cost inventory.
As for the divestments and executive exits, Nutrien had less to say. “As a new business, structural and leadership changes are part of the growth journey,” Nutrien said in a statement to Reuters. However, it did not comment on its plans or staff changes.
“We’ll decline to comment on rumor and speculation,” a Nutrien spokesperson told Green Markets.