Oct 29 (Reuters) – Grain trader Bunge beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter adjusted profit on Thursday, benefiting from robust processing margins for soybeans and other oilseeds.
The Missouri-based company posted an adjusted profit of $2.56 per share for the three months ended September 30, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $2.44 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
• Quarterly net sales from soybean processing and refining were up 5.4% year-on-year at $11.4 billion in the quarter
• Bunge maintained its outlook for 2026 earnings per share of $9.25 to $9.75 per share
• US corn and soybean prices have surged since the start of the Iran conflict, prompting farmers to accelerate sales of grain from last year’s harvest after months of holding back supplies amid persistently weak prices
• The rally, fueled by US and Israeli strikes on Iran, has triggered a wave of selling across the Midwest, with farmers moving corn, soybeans and wheat from storage bins to ethanol makers and major grain handlers such as Archer-Daniels-Midland and Bunge
• Oil prices also spiked due to the war, which in turn raised prices for crops used to make biofuels [O/R]
• Bunge expects strong demand for vegetable oils to continue once global energy prices decline, driven by biofuel blending mandates and reallocation of small refinery exemptions in the US, the company said during an earnings conference call. Vegetable oil supplies are likely to remain tight into next year, it said
• Farmer sales in Brazil accelerated after a currency drop following election, Bunge said during an earnings conference call. The currency decline also lowered some costs for Bunge, the company said
• Bunge’s softseed processing and refining segment reported quarterly net sales of $4.3 billion, compared with $3.6 billion a year ago
• Quarterly net sales at its grain merchandising and milling segment rose 5.2% to $6.76 billion
• Bunge shares rose 2.3% in early trading
• Peer ADM is set to report results on November 3
(Reporting by Katha Kalia in Bengaluru and Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Nick Zieminski)
Comments