Syngenta Group reports strong performance in Q3 2022

Syngenta Group announced strong financial results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2022. Third quarter Group sales increased 20 percent to $7.9 billion, up $1.4 billion year-on-year. Third-quarter EBITDA for 2022 increased 24 percent to $1.0 billion, driven by higher sales of innovative products and services, increased productivity and prices offsetting higher costs.

Group sales for the first nine months of 2022 were $25.9 billion, up $4.9 billion, 24 percent year-on-year. EBITDA for the first nine months of the year was $4.6 billion, 30 percent higher year-on-year.

Syngenta Group’s strong performance continued in the third quarter despite an increasingly challenging macroeconomic environment, including continued strengthening of the US dollar. All business units saw good momentum, benefitting from solid demand for the Group’s diverse products and services which help advance regenerative agriculture, enabling farmers to grow crops sustainably while enhancing yields. Sales growth was attributable to a significant increase in sales across all business units, driven by robust grain prices, attractive farm economics and inventory builds across the value chain. Necessary price increases were implemented to help mitigate higher costs.

The Group continued to advance innovative seeds, crop protection and crop nutrition technologies that help farmers address challenges caused by climate change, and restore and protect soil health, biodiversity and water systems.

Syngenta Group China’s MAP sales grew 80 percent to $2.6 billion in the first nine months and expanded to 565 centers. Average sales per center were up 30 percent year-on-year, helping farmers drive agricultural transformation by equipping them with solutions that increase their crop quality and reduce environmental impact.

Syngenta Group’s digital offerings have reached 208 million acres globally, benefitting from strong uptake by farmers in major markets. (For comparison, 208 million acres is roughly 1.25 the land area of France.)

Amidst global macroeconomic challenges, Syngenta Group continued to manage its supply chains to mitigate higher procurement, logistics, and energy costs. The Group is driving productivity initiatives, pricing to help offset cost increases and other actions to mitigate the ongoing headwinds. EBITDA margin increased 0.9 percentage points from a year earlier to 17.6 percent in the first nine months of 2022.

Synergy-driven sales in the nine months more than doubled to $1.1 billion. The profit contribution increased to $0.4 billion.

Syngenta Crop Protection

Syngenta Crop Protection sales grew 27 percent to $12.6 billion in the first nine months of 2022.  

Sales in Europe, Africa and the Middle East grew 7 percent and in Asia Pacific (excluding China) 5 percent. Driven by strong volume growth and price increases, sales in Latin America increased 62 percent; North America grew 17 percent; and China 30 percent.

ADAMA

ADAMA sales grew 22 percent to $5.2 billion in the first nine months of 2022, driven by strong demand and higher prices, led by the business in Brazil.

Sales in Europe grew 4 percent; North America 17 percent; Latin America 42 percent; India, Middle East and Africa 3 percent; Asia Pacific (excluding China) 19 percent; and China 59 percent.

Syngenta Seeds

Syngenta Seeds sales grew 14 percent to $3.2 billion in the first nine months of 2022.

Field crop sales in Europe, Africa and the Middle East grew 16 percent; North America 13 percent; Asia Pacific (excluding China) 23 percent; and China 35 percent. Latin America grew 17 percent. Sales of Vegetable Seeds were 1 percent lower due to an adverse currency impact, underlying growth at constant exchange rates was 6 percent.

Syngenta Group China

Syngenta Group China, consisting of the Group’s Seeds, Crop Protection, Crop Nutrition, MAP and digital activities in China, achieved sales of $7.1 billion, up 22 percent, in the first nine months of 2022. Underlying growth, adjusting for the new distribution model of the Crop Nutrition nitrogen commodity business, was 36 percent.

Syngenta Group China’s Crop Protection sales increased 22 percent. Sales of Seeds in China, including vegetables, grew 35 percent driven by strong demand for rice and corn.

Crop Nutrition sales were 9 percent lower; underlying growth was 16 percent. Prices have softened in the third quarter.

In the first nine months of the year, MAP sales grew 80 percent to $2.6 billion. The number of MAP centers increased by 127 to a total of 565. MAP digital applications achieved more than 2.2 million registered users, equipped with digital tools that help modernize farms across China.