FMC Agricultural Solutions expects earnings to be up mid-single digits percent in Q2 2014

FMC Corporation recently announced that, as a result of weaker than expected performance in FMC Agricultural Solutions, the company expects second quarter adjusted earnings to be in the range of $0.95 to $1.05 per share. Additionally, the company now expects full-year adjusted earnings to be in the range of $4.10 to $4.30 per share.

The company previously reported that the prolonged cold weather in North America had delayed first quarter sales.  When providing previous guidance, the company expected these weather conditions to abate and for a recovery of these sales to occur in the remaining quarters of 2014. However, the weather conditions persisted later into the second quarter than expected leading to reduced application of pre-emergent products.  Although sales of Authority® brand soybean pre-emergent herbicides increased as expected, the increase was not enough to offset lower than expected sales of other products, particularly Capture® LFR corn insecticide.

In addition, the company reported that drought conditions in the Sao Paulo state of Brazil were delaying sales into the sugarcane segment. The company did not expect this drought to continue through the second quarter. These extended poor growing conditions have resulted in growers reducing their use of crop protection products. Furthermore, growers have significantly reduced the rate at which they are replanting, which has reduced the use of herbicides and insecticides in the sugarcane segment. The company does not expect conditions to improve in sugarcane during the remainder of 2014.

As a result of these factors, the company expects second quarter segment earnings for Agricultural Solutions to be up mid-single digits percent compared to the second quarter of 2013. For the full year 2014, revenues and operating earnings for the Agricultural Solutions segment are expected to increase by a mid-single digits percentage over 2013.