All Posts from June 4, 2021

Scotts Upgrades Guidance Again

Eastern Cornbelt, News, News Briefs, Specialty

Scotts Miracle-Gro Inc., Marysville, Ohio, on June 1 announced increased sales and earnings guidance for fiscal 2021 based on the continued strength of both its U.S. Consumer and Hawthorne segments.

For the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2021, Scotts now expects company-wide sales growth of 17-19 percent. The revision is due mainly to stronger growth in the U.S. Consumer segment, where the company now expects sales growth of 7-9 percent, compared with its previous range of 4-6 percent.

Hawthorne sales also continue to exceed expectations, as the company now expects sales growth of 40-45 percent for the full year, compared with previous guidance of 30-40 percent growth.

Adjusted non-GAAP earnings are expected to be in a range of $9.00-$9.30 per share, versus previous guidance of $8.60-$9.00 per share.

“The level of engagement we’re seeing in our U.S. Consumer segment continues to exceed expectations, with consumer purchases up 10 percent entering June,” said Jim Hagedorn, Chairman and CEO. “Consumer purchases, in units, are up more than 20 percent year-to-date as retailers have resumed a higher level of promotional activity compared with last season.

“While consumer purchases declined in dollars during May, as we expected, it was still the third highest on record for a single month, surpassed only by what we experienced last May and this April,” Hagedorn continued. “In fact, so far this season we have experienced four weeks in which consumer purchases exceeded $160 million. Prior to last year, we had never recorded a single week of consumer purchases at that level.

“Gardening activity continues to be the largest driver of growth with strong consumer engagement in all parts of the U.S. and in all retail channels,” he added. “We also continue to see year-over-year improvement in both our lawns and pest control categories.

“The investments we’ve made to retain the new consumers who entered the category last season are working, which gives us confidence to continue to invest throughout the balance of fiscal 2021 with a goal of once again bringing these new gardeners back to the category next season,” he said.

“We also intend to increase our investment behind the Hawthorne business for the balance of the year, as sales and operating margin continue to exceed our expectations. Sales volume at Hawthorne continues to improve even in the face of difficult year-over-year comparisons as we not only benefit from the growth of the overall marketplace, but also from the unique competitive advantages we have worked so hard to establish,” Hagedorn concluded.

“While commodity prices remain sharply higher than a year ago, we remain focused on ensuring the pricing that will take effect in August will offset commodity pressures as we prepare for next season,” said Cory Miller, Senior Vice president and Interim CFO. “We remain prepared to be more aggressive on our pricing decisions, if needed, to stay ahead of those costs.”

Higher Volumes, Prices, Buoy OCP’s 1Q

Earnings, Morocco, News, Phosphate

OCP Group, Casablanca, reported a 60 percent increase in first-quarter EBITDA to MAD 5.34 billion on revenues of MAD14.29 billion, up from the year-ago MAD3.33 billion and MAD12.27 billion, respectively.

In U.S. dollar terms, EBITDA came in at $596 million, a 73 percent increase on the prior-year $345 million, while dollar-denominated revenues grew 25 percent, to $1.59 billion from $1.27 billion.

The Moroccan phosphates group cited favorable market conditions, coupled with production efficiencies and cost savings programs, as driving the results and performance boost.

It said the higher year-over-year revenues reflected higher volumes across all product categories in the quarter compared with a year-earlier, as well as improved prices in all segments. The group noted the higher product prices in the reporting period mitigated the impact of higher input costs, primarily sulfur.

“The first-quarter results represented a strong start to the year, supporting the group’s positive outlook for 2021,” said OCP. “As anticipated, pricing conditions remain favorable, reflecting increased global demand together with stable supply and rising raw material prices.”

The group reduced its capital expenditures by 18 percent to MAD1.75 billion in the first quarter, down from MAD2.13 billion a year-ago, while U.S. dollar-denominated capex was $196 million, down from $220 million.

NeuAG LLC – Management Brief

Ammonium Sulfate, Management Briefs, Specialty, Texas

NeuAG LLC, Freeport, Texas, on June 2 announced the addition of Stan Deal as East Region Account Manager and Scott Hornblower as Midwest Region Account Manager.

Deal will focus on the wholesale ammonium sulfate crop nutrient market covering Louisiana, Arkansas, and east to the Atlantic Coast. The company said he is well suited for the position based on his background and experience in the Eastern U.S., as well as his retail and wholesale experience, ranging from specialty fertilizers to biostimulants.

Hornblower was responsible for product management and procurement of ammonium sulfate and other products with a large U.S. agricultural cooperative. His focus will be the wholesale ammonium sulfate crop nutrient market in Minnesota, Iowa, and the western Great Lakes region.

Founded by industry veterans Jerry and Joe Newcomb, NeuAG is constructing an ammonium sulfate storage and distribution facility in Freeport (GM Oct. 9, 2020), and will distribute and market ammonium sulfate for a broad range of end uses in the agricultural, industrial, and sprayable markets.

Haldor Topsoe – Management Brief

Hydrogen, Management Briefs, Scandinavia

Haldor Topsoe, Lyngby, Denmark, has named clean technology executive Chokri Mousaoui as the Executive Vice President of the company’s newly-created Green Hydrogen Development unit. He will also be a member of the senior leadership team.

In 2011 Mousaoui co-founded Eternal Sun, which specializes in equipment for testing solar modules. Under his leadership, the company evolved from a startup to a market leader in solar testing. In 2016, the company acquired the solar simulator division of U.S.-based Spire Solar Corp., and in 2019 ABN AMRO Energy Transition Fund joined as new majority shareholder.

Haldor Topsoe is involved in several green projects, including the Aquamarine project in Germany, NOEM Helios in Saudi Arabia, Green Fuels in Denmark, and Green Methanol in Scandinavia.

OMV AG – Management Brief

Europe, Management Briefs

The Supervisory Board of Austrian oil and gas company OMV AG, Vienna, on June 1 appointed Alfred Stern, 56, as the new Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of OMV. Stern will assume the position Sept. 1, 2021, for a three-year period, with an extension option for further two years subject to mutual consent.

Stern is currently OMV Executive Board member for Chemicals & Materials, and was formerly CEO of Vienna-headquartered polyolefins and fertilizers major Borealis AG from 2018 until March 31, 2021 (GM Feb. 5, p. 1). OMV in late October 2020 took majority control of Borealis, upping its stake in the company to 75 percent from the previous 36 percent (GM Nov. 6, 2020).

Current Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of OMV Rainer Seele will resign from his position in the Executive Board by mutual agreement on Aug. 31, 2021.

Indiana Ammonia Facility Advances

Ammonia, Eastern Cornbelt, News, News Briefs

The LaPorte County Plan Commission on May 25 approved a request by Kingsbury Elevator Inc. for rezoning to allow it to store anhydrous ammonia at its location in the Kingsbury Industrial Park in Kingsbury, according to The Times of Northwest Indiana. The change must also be approved by the LaPorte County Commission and the LaPorte County Board of Zoning Appeals.

Kingsbury Elevator already has storage for 10,000 st of dry and liquid fertilizer at the site. The company has already undergone some $8 million upgrades since 2015.

The rezoning allows the company to install two 45,000 gallon ammonia tanks, which will provide FOB product as well as serve trucks going into northern Indiana and southern Michigan. The company will receive railcars via Canadian National and will source product from Canada, Mississippi, and Iowa.

Commission approval was originally expected in March, so the tanks and ammonia were already ordered and are onsite. The company’s attorney told the owners to hold off on further procurement until after the zoning request was finalized.

IFFCO Launches Nano Urea Liquid

India, News, News Briefs, Urea

Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd. (IFFCO) on May 31 launched Nano Urea Liquid, which the company said could cut conventional urea used by at least 50 percent. IFFCO said a 500 ml bottle of the product, which contains 40,000 ppm of nitrogen, will replace at least one bag of conventional urea, thereby reducing input costs and also bringing down the cost of logistics and warehousing.

IFFCO said some 11,000 farmer field trials were undertaken on more than 94 crops across India and showed an 8 percent increase in yield.

IFFCO has priced the product at Rs240 per bottle, which it said is 10 percent less than a bag of urea. Production starts in June, with rollout soon thereafter. IFFCO said it plans a massive countryside campaign to demonstrate and train farmers about the use and application of the new product.

The cooperative said the product was indigenously developed after many years of research by IFFCO’s scientists and engineers through a proprietary technology developed at Nano Biotechnology Research Centre, Kalol.

Corteva, Elemental Enzymes Partner on Abiotic Stress Mitigator/Biostimulant

News, News Briefs, Specialty

Corteva Agriscience, Wilmington, Del., and Elemental Enzymes, St. Louis, a life sciences company that develops biotechnology and enzymes solutions, on June 1 announced a multi-year global agreement around an abiotic stress mitigation/biostimulant technology. Through the agreement, Corteva receives an exclusive license to Elemental Enzymes’s Waterflux® technology. The optimized osmoprotectant blend provides plants with small organic molecules that help crops overcome abiotic stressors such as soil salinity, drought, and extreme temperatures, helping keep them productive and healthy.

Corteva will offer this technology through a family of products to be branded under the name Sosdia™ Abiotic Stress Mitigator/Biostimulant. Two different products and formulations will be offered for a broad range of crops, including specialty and row crops, sugar cane, and turf and ornamental, as well as range and pasture. Pending appropriate registrations, Corteva will launch the products globally, excluding Australia and New Zealand territories.

Nutrien Spearheads Use of Caterpillar’s Remote-Controlled Bulldozer Technology

News, News Briefs, Phosphate, Saskatchewan, Southeast

Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, announced on June 1 that it is the first company in the fertilizer industry to implement the Cat® Command for Dozing remote-control system. Nutrien said it will be using the technology at its Aurora, N.C., phosphate facility to create a safer working environment and improve reliability. This technology allows workers to operate bulldozers safely from a few thousand feet away in an indoor control station, thereby physically removing them from potential risks.

Nutrien’s Aurora facility is the largest mining site to implement this non-line of sight remote-control system for D8 bulldozers.

In addition to keeping operators safe by getting them out of the dozers’ cabs, the system includes sophisticated software that monitors the grade of the terrain ahead and identifies avoidance zones. It also offers improved visibility with cameras that provide a 180-degree front, back, and bird’s-eye view of the ground-level conditions, along with lighting that reveals a greater field of vision for improved day and nighttime operation.

Disclaimer of Warranty
All information has been obtained by Green Markets from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Green Markets or others, Green Markets does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information.

For additional details visit our Terms of Use.