ST. LOUIS — The transformation that started three years in the past at Bunge Ltd. is creating the collaborative world tradition that firm executives believed would maximize the worth of the corporate. It’s this transformation that additionally helped information the St. Louis-based firm to robust fiscal 2021 outcomes.
Bunge internet earnings within the yr ended Dec. 31, 2021, was $2.08 billion, equal to $13.64 per share on the widespread inventory, up 80% from $1.16 billion, or $7.71 per share, in fiscal 2020. Gross sales in 2021 had been $59.15 billion, up 43% from $41.4 billion. On an adjusted foundation, earnings per share had been $12.93 in 2021, up from $8.30 in 2020.
Shares of Bunge climbed to a 52-week excessive of $103.53 in mid-day buying and selling on the New York Inventory Trade on Feb. 9, the day outcomes had been introduced, earlier than falling again to shut at $99.60, down from the day before today’s shut of $100.96.
In a Feb. 9 convention name with securities analysts, Gregory A. Heckman, chief govt officer of Bunge, stated the corporate has begun to reap the rewards of a method that now has all areas of the corporate pulling in the identical path.
“Bunge had an industry-leading portfolio with belongings in among the finest areas across the globe, however we additionally had particular person belongings and companies that didn’t match the corporate’s objective of rising our relevance with clients at each ends of the availability chain,” Mr. Heckman stated. “And after plenty of divestitures, we now have a footprint that’s stronger than ever and a strong base on which to develop.”
For example of its strong base, Mr. Heckman pointed to the plant-based lipids platform that Bunge is constructing by means of the mix of Loders Croklaan and the legacy Bunge Oils enterprise.
“The Loders tropical oils portfolio and innovation capabilities, supported by Bunge’s power in provide chains and seed oils is a proposition that resonates with clients,” he stated. “Whereas your complete oils phase delivered a file yr, 2021 was additionally the perfect yr for the previous Loders enterprise.”
Mr. Heckman stated Bunge has taken an analogous methodical strategy in evaluating the way it can enhance monetary self-discipline inside the group.
“We’ve rewired our methods so now we have higher visibility to our information, and we used that data in a structured option to make higher industrial, danger administration and capital selections,” he stated.
One other space of success for Bunge has been the corporate’s management’s willingness to embrace the spirit of steady enchancment. Mr. Heckman stated that in 2021 Bunge achieved data in whole crush quantity, refining efficiency and port volumes. The corporate additionally had greater than 100 capital expenditure tasks every exceeding $1 million.
Adjusted phase EBIT inside the Agribusiness unit totaled $2.13 billion in 2021, up 22% from $1.74 billion in fiscal 2020. Fiscal 2021 outcomes included a $35 million fastened asset impairment cost associated to an oils facility in China. Internet gross sales within the division elevated 45% to $46.64 billion from $30.05 billion, whereas volumes had been narrowly decrease, easing to 142,013,000 tonnes from 143,054,000 tonnes.
Within the Refined and Specialty Oils unit, adjusted phase EBIT totaled $534 million, up 82% from $294 million in fiscal 2020. Internet gross sales within the division elevated 39% to $13.33 billion from $9.6 billion. Volumes, in the meantime, had been decrease, falling to 9,202,000 tonnes from 9,529,000 tonnes.
Adjusted phase EBIT inside the Milling unit was $86 million, down 12% from $98 million in fiscal 2020. Fiscal 2021 outcomes included $170 million of impairment fees on the classification of the corporate’s Mexican wheat milling enterprise as held-for-sale. Internet gross sales within the division elevated 18%, climbing to $1.91 billion from $1.62 billion. Volumes improved to 7,189,000 tonnes from 6,091,000 tonnes.
Within the fourth quarter of 2021, Bunge internet earnings was $231 million, or $1.52 per share, down 59% from $559 million, or $3.74 per share, the yr earlier than. Gross sales had been $16.68 billion, up 32% from $12.61 billion within the closing quarter of 2020. Adjusted earnings per share had been $3.49, up from $3.05. Source
