Shares of The Andersons Inc. posted the biggest intraday gain since August after posting record full-year earnings, according to Bloomberg. Strong demand for crops should continue buoying the Ohio-based grain merchant and biofuels producer, Andersons President and CEO Pat Bowe said Wednesday, Feb. 15, on an investor call. “Ag fundamentals remain favorable,” said Bowe. “We’re well positioned to execute in this environment.”
Shares gained by as much as 12%, the biggest intraday jump since Aug. 3.
Farmers in the US boosted plantings of soft red winter wheat late last year, which will give the company opportunities to store and ship supplies to areas of deficit – the bread and butter of traditional grain merchandising.
Drought-reduced crop production in the Southern Plains also boosted demand for The Andersons’ corn from cattle feedlots, while the company expects US farmers to start snatching up fertilizer after prices plummeted.
Full-year net income from continuing operations was up, at $119 million on sales of $17.3 billion from the year-ago $100 million and $12.6 billion, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA was up at $412 million from $353 million.
The Andersons reported fourth-quarter net income from continuing operations attributed to the company of $15 million on sales of $4.68 billion, down from the year-ago $33 million and $3.78 billion, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA moved down to $104 million from the year-ago $131 million.
The company reported fourth-quarter Plant Nutrient pretax income of $2 million on revenues of $255 million compared to the year-ago pretax income of $16 million and $234 million, respectively. Gross profit was $29 million, down from $39 million, while EBITDA fell to $11 million from $24 million.
“Our Plant Nutrient segment had mixed results, with good fall applications and farmer engagement on specialty liquids, but more limited early orders of granular fertilizer as buyers are waiting for declining prices to stabilize,” said Bowe. “With strong farm income, this sets us up well for a higher volume spring planting season, although likely at more normalized margins.”
The company added that its lawn products were negatively impacted by lower demand.
Full-year Plant Nutrient pretax income was $39 million on revenues of $1.1 billion, down from the year-ago $43 million and $867 million, respectively. Gross profit was up at $149 million from $140 million, while record EBITDA of $73 million was level with 2021.