Corteva Reports Larger-than-Expected Loss

(Reuters) – U.S. agrichemicals firm Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) reported a larger-than-expected loss on Wednesday, hurt by lower sales and prices. This led the company to cut its full-year sales outlook, sending its shares down over 10% after market close.

A decline in agricultural commodity prices has forced many farmers to reduce spending on crop chemicals, impacting companies like Corteva, which manufactures pesticides and insecticides.

Additionally, demand for crop protection chemicals remains subdued in South America as flooding in Brazil, one of the top grain producers, has affected demand.

Corteva's net sales fell 10% to $2.33 billion for the quarter ended September 30.

As one of the largest crop-protection product makers in the United States, Corteva competes with firms like Syngenta, BASF, and Bayer in the agricultural chemicals sector.

"Following a strong first half, the seed business was impacted by lower planted area in Latin America in the quarter," said CEO Chuck Magro in a statement.

The seeds segment, dealing with the sale of seeds for crops such as soy, corn, and wheat, saw sales drop 21%, with sales to Latin America falling 43%. The decline was attributed to lower prices and reduced volumes due to a decrease in corn planted area in Argentina.

Meanwhile, its crop protection segment experienced a 4% decline in sales due to decreased pricing. Destocking in Europe offset volume growth in Latin and North America.

For the full year 2024, Corteva anticipates sales between $17.0 billion and $17.2 billion, reduced from its prior estimate of $17.2 billion to $17.5 billion. Sales for the next year are expected to be in the range of $17.3 billion to $17.7 billion.

The Indianapolis-based company reported a loss of 49 cents per share for the July-to-September period, compared to analysts' average estimate of a loss of 30 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.