By Karl Plume and Mrinalika Roy
(Reuters) -Bunge exceeded Wall Street expectations for third-quarter profit on Wednesday as large global harvests provided the grain trader and processor enough volumes of soy, corn and other crops to blunt a hit from lower margins.
The global grains merchant had expected a profit lift from a spike in crop sales by U.S. farmers, who are harvesting a record soybean crop and their second-largest corn crop ever.
Bunge firmed its 2024 adjusted earnings-per-share outlook to “at least $9.25” from “approximately $9.25” previously as results from its Agribusiness and its Refined and Specialty Oils were better than expected, though down from the same quarter last year.
Bunge and agribusiness rivals including Archer-Daniels-Midland Co and Cargill Inc have seen profits decline and margins erode as prices for staple crops like corn and soybeans have slid to near four-year lows.
Quarterly adjusted earnings in Agribusiness, Bunge’s largest segment, fell 22% from a year earlier despite a 5.5% rise in sales as weak oilseed processing margins in North America and Asia more than offset better results in South America.
Merchandising, which includes grain trading and purchasing, was a bright spot as quarterly adjusted earnings rose by about 56% from last year to $75 million.
Refined and Specialty Oils adjusted profit dropped 21% amid a 2.4% bump in volumes, while milling segment earnings tumbled 61%.
The results come as Bunge is waiting to close a $34-billion merger with Glencore-backed Viterra. The deal, which was announced last year and has been approved by Bunge’s shareholders, awaits regulatory approvals in key markets.
Bunge reported an adjusted profit of $2.29 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with analysts’ estimate of $2.15 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company’s full-year adjusted profit outlook of “at least $9.25” per share fell short of the $9.43 expected by analysts.
Shares were down 0.2% at $87.65 in premarket trading.
(Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and David Evans)
