Bunge ( NYSE: BG ) stock edged lower in premarket trading on Wednesday as Q4 sales missed expectations by a wide margin.
The St. Louis-based agricultural company notched a narrow earnings beat on the bottom line, but a miss on the top line as sales slid year over year. Net sales of $16.66B missed the analyst estimate of $18.2B as declines in agribusiness sales offset strength in refined oils.
“Over the course of the year, we made progress on executing our strategy to strengthen and expand our core business while positioning us to benefit over the long term from the growing demand for food, feed and renewable fuel,” CEO Greg Heckman said. “Looking ahead to 2023, we expect the favorable market environment we experienced last year to continue.”
Moving forward, management expects to earn “at least $11 per share,” suggesting downside versus the $12.18 analyst consensus. In agribusiness, full-year results are forecast to be down “slightly” from the prior year while the Refined and Specialty Oils segment is expected to be “modestly down from the record prior year.”
“While we are not forecasting the same magnitude of margin enhancing opportunities that we captured during 2022, we do see potential upside to our outlook if strong demand and tight global commodity supplies continue throughout the year,” the company stated.
Shares of Bunge ( BG ) slipped 2.89% in premarket trading.
Dig into the details of the results .
For further details see:
Bunge shares slip as sales come up short of expectations