LUXEMBOURG, May 16, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Adecoagro S.A. (NYSE: AGRO, Bloomberg: AGRO US, Reuters: AGRO.K), a leading sustainable
production company in South
America, announced today its results for the first quarter
ended March 31, 2024. The financial
information contained in this press release is based on
consolidated financial statements presented in US dollars and
prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) except for Non - IFRS measures. Please refer to
page 22 for a definition and reconciliation to IFRS of the Non -
IFRS measures used in this earnings release.
Main highlights for the period:
- Gross sales were 2.6% higher in 1Q24 due to (i) more sugarcane
crushed, which enabled us to increase our sugar production and
execute sales at solid prices; coupled with (ii) an increase in
average selling prices in the Rice segment.
- Adjusted EBITDA was $90.1
million, 1.1% above 1Q23, driven by an outperformance
of all three segments of our Farming business. This, in turn, fully
offset the decline reported in the Sugar, Ethanol & Energy
business due to a year-over-year loss in the mark-to-market of our
biological assets on price outlook.
- Adjusted net income in 1Q24 amounted to $23.3 million, 40.1% lower than the previous
year.
- Net debt amounted to $639.2
million, a 23.0% year-over-year reduction, while net debt
to LTM Adjusted EBITDA ratio reached 1.3x, 0.6x lower than
1Q23.
Sugar, Ethanol & Energy business:
- Crushing volumes amounted to 2.2 million tons, 47%
higher YoY and an all time record for a 1Q milling figure, due
to greater sugarcane availability. We diverted as much as 49% to
produce sugar, which traded on average 48% above hydrous ethanol in
Mato Grosso do Sul. In terms of
ethanol, 91% of our production was hydrous ethanol given the active
demand for this type of fuel, while we also continued to take
advantage of our storage capacity and carried over 194 thousand m3
(69% higher than in 1Q23) into the following quarters, to profit
from higher expected prices. Furthermore, our unitary cost of
production decreased 9% YoY given the higher volume crushed.
Nevertheless, results were negatively impacted by (i) a YoY loss in
the mark-to-market of our biological assets due to lower sugar
prices (sugar #11 contracts) during 1Q24 compared to 1Q23, coupled
with (ii) higher freight costs as we sold more sugar. Consequently,
Adjusted EBITDA reached $51.9 million
in 1Q24, 32% lower than in 1Q23.
Farming business:
- In 1Q24, Adjusted EBITDA for the Farming business amounted to
$44.0 million, $25.5 million higher compared to 1Q23. This was
driven by an outperformance in all three segments. Our Rice
business presented a YoY increase of $19.4
million, mainly explained by (i) a better campaign in terms
of area, productivity and prices, leading to a $12.7 million YoY gain in the mark-to-market of
our biological assets; coupled with (ii) our presence in both the
export and domestic market which enabled us to conduct sales at
attractive prices ($433/ton higher
versus 1Q23) as we were the only rice producer with available
stocks at a moment when rice supply was limited. In the case of
Crops, the full recovery in yields of our main grains was the main
reason behind the $5.8 million YoY
increase in results. In our Dairy business, Adjusted EBITDA was 5%
higher than in 1Q23 mainly due to lower cost of feed (corn silage
and soy pellets) as our in-house production recovered the volume
lost.
Remarks
2024 Shareholder Distribution
- Our Annual Shareholder Meeting held on April 17th approved a cash dividend distribution
of $35 million to be paid in two
installments of $17.5 million each.
The first installment represents approximately $0.1682 per share and will be paid on
May 29th, 2024 to shareholders of the
Company with record date May 14th,
2024. The second installment shall be payable in or about
November 2024 in an equal cash
amount.
- In addition, year-to-date we invested $26.6 million in repurchasing 2.6 million shares
(2.4% of the company's equity) under our existing share buyback
program, at an average price of $10.40 per share.
Farmland Sale at Premium to Independent
Appraisal
- In April 2024, we completed the
sale of La Pecuaria farm located in the Province of Durazno,
Uruguay, for a selling price of
$20.7 million ($6,500/hectare) fully collected at the closing
date. The transaction generated an Adjusted EBITDA of $15.3 million, which will be booked in our Crops
segment in 2Q24.
Non-Gaap Financial Measures: For a full
reconciliation of non-gaap financial measures please refer to page
22 of our 1Q24 Earnings Release found on Adecoagro's website
(ir.adecoagro.com)
Forward-Looking Statements: This press
release contains forward-looking statements that are based on our
current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about
us and our industry. These forward-looking statements can be
identified by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "forecast",
"believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is/are
likely to," "may," "plan," "should," "would," or other similar
expressions.
These forward-looking statements involve various risks and
uncertainties. Although we believe that our expectations expressed
in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, our
expectations may turn out to be incorrect. Our actual results
could be materially different from our expectations. In light of
the risks and uncertainties described above, the estimates and
forward-looking statements discussed in this press release might
not occur, and our future results and our performance may differ
materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements
due to, inclusive, but not limited to, the factors mentioned
above. Because of these uncertainties, you should not make
any investment decision based on these estimates and
forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements made in this press release
relate only to events or information as of the date on which the
statements are made in this press release. We undertake no
obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are
made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
To read the full 1Q24 earnings release, please access
ir.adecoagro.com. A conference call to discuss 1Q24 results will be
held on May 17, 2024, with a live
webcast through the internet:
Conference Call
May 17,
2024
11 a.m. US EST
12 p.m. Buenos Aires
12 p.m. Sao
Paulo
5 p.m. Luxembourg
To participate, please register at the link
Investor Relations Department
Emilio Gnecco
CFO
Victoria
Cabello
IRO
Email: ir@adecoagro.com
About Adecoagro:
Adecoagro is a leading sustainable production company in
South America. Adecoagro owns
210.4 thousand hectares of farmland and several industrial
facilities spread across the most productive regions of
Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, where it produces over 2.8 million
tons of agricultural products and over 1 million MWh of renewable
electricity.
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SOURCE Adecoagro S.A.