Nufarm shares plunge on earnings miss
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More news: Nufarm’s share price had plummeted 7.47% to $4.71 by 12:43pm AEST after it posted a slide in first-half profit as customer destocking and lower prices weighed on its performance.
RBC Capital Markets analysts said the company delivered a softer -than-expected result and labelled its sentiment for the stock as “negative”.
Nufarm first-half profit slides amid difficult conditions
The news: Agricultural chemicals supplier Nufarm has posted a slide in first-half profit as customer destocking and lower prices weighed on its performance.
The numbers: Statutory profit for the six months to 31 March tumbled 67% to $49.2 million, while revenue dropped 10% to $1.76 billion. Excluding this, underlying earnings were down 31% to $217 million. The company declared an interim dividend of 4 cents a share, down 1 cent from a year ago.
The context: Nufarm attributed the weaker result to challenging trading conditions in its main crop protection business, with destocking by customers having a negative impact on product prices and margin. The company outlined full year guidance for underlying earnings between $350 million and $390 million, as prices in its crop protection business remain subdued amid near-term challenges.
What they said: CEO Greg Hunt said: “Our balance sheet position is strong. Our debt financing provides significant flexibility to meet movements in working capital, we have no near term refinancing requirements and we have minimal financial covenants associated with our facilities".
The source: ASX announcement
