(Adds comments on corn demand, Brazilian real)
Aug 5 (Reuters) - Corteva Inc on Wednesday missed analysts’ expectations for second-quarter revenue and its reinstated full-year forecast came in below estimates, sending the seed and pesticide producer’s shares down as much as 9% in extended trade.
Good weather and higher planted area shifted corn volumes in North America to the first quarter, while the pesticides business was pressured by a strong performance last year when the Latin America season started earlier, the company said.
Corteva, which had suspended its 2020 forecast in May due to uncertainty from the COVID-19 crisis, said it now expects earnings per share between $1.25 and $1.45 for the year, below analysts’ estimates of $1.40 at its midpoint.
It estimated sales to rise 1% to 2%, which translates to a range of between $13.98 billion and $14.12 billion, also lower than analysts’ estimates of $14.20 billion.
Wednesday’s outlook was also slightly below Corteva’s original estimates for earnings between $1.45 and $1.55 per share on sales of about $14.5 billion, reflecting a weaker Brazilian Real and lower corn demand.
Corteva said demand and prices for corn have not yet seen a complete rebound. A third of all U.S. corn produced is used to make ethanol, which has taken a hit as pandemic-driven travel restrictions hurt demand for gasoline into which the biofuel is blended.
The Wilmington, Delaware-based company earned $1.26 per share for the three months ended June 30, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.24, in part due to cost cuts.
The company, spun off from chemical conglomerate DowDuPont, said net sales fell 6.6% to $5.19 billion, missing estimates of $5.47 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Devika Syamnath)
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