(Reuters) – Corteva Inc on Wednesday forecast 2022 sales above market expectations as the insecticide and seed maker benefited from strong demand and higher prices.
The company, spun off in 2019 after a merger of Dow Chemical and Dupont, said it expected net sales of $16.7 billion to $17 billion for the year 2022, above estimates of $16.62 billion.
U.S. farmers are pre-buying seeds and chemicals in a bid to secure supplies for next spring, amid rising prices due to labor issues, tightened global supplies of fertilizers and chemicals and surging demand.
Corteva forecast operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $2.8 billion to $3 billion. Analysts expected the company to post core earnings of $2.98 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES.
The company said operating earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortization for the fourth quarter stood at $262 million, or 8 cents per share, compared with $236 million, or 4 cents per share, a year earlier.
The Wilmington, Delaware-based company’s net sales rose 8.48% to $3.48 billion in the fourth quarter.
(Reporting by Rithika Krishna in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
