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Syngenta’s crop protection sales up 9% in Q1 2013

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Syngenta’s crop protection sales were up by 9.2% to $3,125 million in the first quarter of 2013. Seeds business rose by 4.7% to $1,282 million. Total group sales, which including crop protection, seeds, lawn and garden business, increased by 6.2% to $4,570 million in the first quarter of 2013.

Syngenta’s sales result ($million)
Q1 ended Mar. 31	Q1 2013	Q1 2012	change%
Crop Protection	3,125	2,861	+9.2
Seeds	1,282	1,225	+4.7
Elimination Crop Protection sales to Seeds	(37)	(31)	n/a
Total	4,370	4,055	+7.8
Lawn and Garden⁽¹⁾	200	249	-19.7
Group Sales	4,570	4,304	+6.2
⁽¹⁾Includes product lines Professional Products and Flowers. Professional Products were formerly reported under Crop Protection and Flowers under Seeds.

Regional sales

Sales of crop protection in Europe, Africa and the Middle East were up 8.7 % driven in particular by the CIS, with further expansion of the product portfolio and higher acreage expectations for spring crops. Growth was also strong in South East Europe and in France, where new fungicide launches and corn and cereal herbicides played a key role. Sales in Italy and in some northern European countries were lower owing to cold wet weather which has delayed the start to the season.

North America saw continuing strong growth in crop protection with sales up 13.5 % despite a prolonged winter. Significant contributions came from the corn herbicide CALLISTO® and from VIBRANCE® seed care, which has recently been launched and achieved sales of more than $50 million in the quarter.

Sales of crop protection in Latin America rose by 16.6 %, which completed a strong season driven by Brazil, where fungicide sales were up by more than 30 % and sales of insecticides also grew significantly owing to increased insect pressure in soybean and cotton. Crop protection sales for sugar cane expanded as technology adoption continues.

In Asia Pacific, sales of crop protection dropped by 2.9 % .Growth was concentrated in the emerging markets of ASEAN, more than offsetting another difficult season due to weather in Australasia. Seeds continued their growth trajectory led by corn, with strong demand for treated hybrids.

Syngenta’s crop protection sales result by region ($million)
Q1 ended Mar. 31	Q1 2013	Q1 2012	change%
Europe, Africa and Middle East	1,267	1,166	+8.7
North America	890	784	+13.5
Latin America	500	429	+16.6
Asia Pacific	468	482	-2.9
Total	3,125	2,861	+9.2

Syngenta’s seed sales result by region ($million)
Q1 ended Mar. 31	Q1 2013	Q1 2012	change%
Europe, Africa and Middle East	686	605	+13.4
North America	460	496	-7.3
Latin America	78	76	+2.6
Asia Pacific	58	48	+20.8
Total	1,282	1,225	+4.7

Product line sales

Crop protection

Double digit growth in selective herbicides was led by corn herbicides and by AXIAL® on cereals, notably in France. Non-selective herbicides rebounded from a weak first quarter in 2012 largely due to TOUCHDOWN® which saw significant volume and price advances. Growth in fungicides was more moderate, with strength in Brazil, France and the CIS partly offset by adverse weather in some countries and by lower US sales. SEGURIS® was successfully launched in Central Europe having received full EU regulatory approval in 2012. Growth in insecticides was driven in Brazil by ACTARA® and in the USA by FORCE®, which continued to demonstrate its value as part of integrated corn rootworm management programs. Seed care sales increased by more than 20 percent led by the successful launch of VIBRANCE®; CRUISER® continued its expansion in emerging markets with strong growth in both Latin America and Asia Pacific.

Syngenta’s sales result by category ($million)
Q1 ended Mar. 31	Q1 2013	Q1 2012	change%
Selective Herbicides	1,011	912	+10.9
Non-selective Herbicides	302	234	+29.1
Fungicides	926	901	+2.8
Insecticides	480	462	+3.9
Seed Care	379	314	+20.7
Other Crop Protection	27	38	-29.0
Total Crop Protection	3,125	2,861	+9.2
Corn and Soybean	700	707	-1.0
Diverse Field Crops	415	356	+16.6
Vegetables	167	162	+3.1
Total Seeds	1,282	1,225	+4.7
Elimination Crop Protection sales to Seeds	(37)	(31)	n/a
Lawn and Garden(1)	200	249	-19.7
Group Sales	4,570	4,304	+6.2
(1)Includes product lines Professional Products and Flowers. Professional Products were formerly reported under Crop Protection and Flowers under Seeds.

Seeds

In Corn and soybean seeds, sales expanded rapidly in the CIS and in Asia Pacific. North American corn sales excluding the impact of lower licensing income were broadly flat following a strong fourth quarter performance in 2012. Soybean sales were slightly lower as a late spring delayed purchasing. In Diverse field crops strong growth in sunflower, notably in Eastern Europe, more than offset a significant decline in sugar beet reflecting lower acreage in Europe and the USA. Vegetables continued the upturn evident at the end of 2012, with a more positive environment for growers in the Americas and Asia Pacific.

Lawn and Garden

Lawn and Garden sales of $200 million reflected the impact of divestments which will significantly improve the profitability of the business. Excluding both acquisitions and divestments sales were unchanged.

Outlook

"Business momentum was sustained in the first quarter of 2013 despite adverse weather in March delaying northern hemisphere plantings. Farmer sentiment remains strong and we will continue to drive innovative offers through a commercial organization which is now fully integrated in all territories. For the full year, we expect the impact of currencies and chemical raw materials to be broadly neutral and cost efficiencies to help offset lower licensing income and higher production costs in seeds. We also expect to generate significant free cash flow and sales growth in line with the target for our eight key crops of $25 billion in 2020.” said Mike Mack, Chief Executive Officer of Syngenta.