Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
July 31, 2012
- Sales of $905.2 million, up 11 percent from the prior-year period
- Adjusted earnings of $0.92 per diluted share, up 20 percent from the prior-year period
- Agricultural Products' segment earnings up 18 percent; Specialty Chemicals' segment earnings down 6 percent; Industrial Chemicals' segment earnings up 18 percent
- Third quarter 2012 outlook for adjusted earnings of $0.70 - $0.80 per diluted share, a 9 percent increase from the prior-year period at midpoint of range
- Full-year 2012 outlook for adjusted earnings of $3.42 to $3.52 per diluted share, a 16 percent increase at midpoint of range; raises lower end of range versus previous outlook
FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) today reported second quarter sales of $905.2 million, an 11 percent increase over the same period in 2011. The company reported net income of $104.9 million, or $0.76 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2012, versus net income of $107.2 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2011. This quarter's results include charges of $22.0 million after tax, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared to charges of $3.3 million after tax, or $0.03 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter. Excluding these items in both periods, adjusted earnings were $0.92 per diluted share in the current quarter, an increase of 20 percent versus the prior-year quarter.
Pierre Brondeau, FMC president, CEO and chairman, said, "Our second quarter 2012 results continue to demonstrate the strength of FMC's advantaged portfolio. Agricultural Products showed vigorous growth, driven by overall strong conditions in North America and continued robust demand in Latin America. Specialty Chemicals' results were down slightly as expected, with the continuing impacts of the operational issues we faced in our Lithium business in the first quarter offsetting steady performance from our BioPolymer business. Industrial Chemicals delivered another double-digit increase in earnings, driven by higher selling prices across the segment, particularly in soda ash, higher volumes, and the continued shift toward specialties in the Peroxygens business."
Revenue in Agricultural Products of $393.6 million increased 19 percent versus the prior-year quarter with substantial sales gains in Latin America and North America. In Latin America, sales increased significantly, driven by continued strength in sugar cane, growth in soybeans, and sales from our new market access joint venture in Argentina. In North America, sales also increased significantly due to strong demand for proprietary herbicides, higher insecticide sales, and increased non-crop sales. Asia and Europe/Middle East/Africa sales were marginally down versus the prior-year period. Segment earnings of $111.2 million increased 18 percent versus the year-ago quarter driven by strong volume growth, partially offset by higher spending on targeted growth initiatives.
Revenue in Specialty Chemicals was $235.4 million, up 3 percent versus the year-ago quarter as higher selling prices across all businesses were partially offset by unfavorable exchange rate impacts from the weakening euro on the BioPolymer business. Segment earnings were down 6 percent to $52.7 million, as anticipated, with higher prices across the segment more than offset by the continuing impacts of first quarter operational issues in Lithium, higher raw material costs in BioPolymer, increased investment to support growth initiatives in BioPolymer, in particular in natural colors, and unfavorable exchange rate impacts.
Revenue in Industrial Chemicals of $277.1 million increased 9 percent from the year-ago quarter, driven by higher selling prices and volume growth across the segment. Segment earnings of $42.8 million increased 18 percent as a result of the sales gains and the continued favorable mix shift in Peroxygens toward specialties markets.
Corporate expense was $14.7 million versus $15.6 million in the prior-year quarter. Interest expense, net, was $11.5 million as compared to $10.5 million in the year-ago quarter. On June 30, 2012, gross consolidated debt was $856.5 million, and debt, net of cash, was $781.0 million. For the quarter, depreciation and amortization was $34.5 million and capital expenditures were $42.4 million.
Outlook
Regarding the company's outlook for 2012, Brondeau said, "For the full year 2012, we have raised slightly the lower end of our previous outlook and now expect adjusted earnings of $3.42 to $3.52 per diluted share, a 16 percent increase above last year at the midpoint of this range. Our Agricultural Products segment expects to achieve its ninth consecutive year of record earnings, delivering a year-on-year percentage increase in earnings in the high-teens, reflecting increased volumes, particularly in Latin America, North America and Asia, due to strong market conditions and growth from new and acquired products, but partially offset by higher spending on targeted growth initiatives. Segment earnings in Specialty Chemicals are expected to be flat for the year. In BioPolymer, we are anticipating the eighth consecutive year of record earnings, with higher selling prices and volume growth expected to be partially offset by higher raw material costs, increased spending on targeted growth initiatives, and unfavorable exchange rate impacts. In Lithium, poor evaporative conditions during the Argentine winter have not allowed brine concentrations to recover from the impacts of heavy rainfall in the first quarter as expected. This has limited our ability to exploit the capacity expansion brought on-line in the first quarter, and will result in continuing capacity constraints and higher manufacturing costs well into the third quarter.
"And in our Industrial Chemicals segment, we expect a year-on-year percentage earnings increase in the high-teens due to higher volumes and selling prices in soda ash and specialty peroxygens and the continued mix shift toward specialty peroxygens. Across the company, we continue to see the benefits of our organic growth initiatives and the accretive impacts of the external growth initiatives completed last year."
Brondeau concluded, "For the third quarter of 2012, we expect adjusted earnings of $0.70 to $0.80 per diluted share, a 9 percent increase above the same period last year at the midpoint of this range. In Agricultural Products, we expect segment earnings to be up approximately 10 percent reflecting strong growth in Latin America, especially Brazil, partially offset by continued investment in targeted growth initiatives. Specialty Chemicals' segment earnings are projected to be down approximately 5 percent as higher selling prices across the segment and volume growth in BioPolymer are offset by higher operating costs in Lithium, where we have taken the difficult but necessary decision to limit production in the third quarter in order to assist in the recovery of inventory levels in the evaporative ponds. And in Industrial Chemicals, we expect third quarter segment earnings to be up in the mid-teens percent driven by higher selling prices in soda ash and specialty peroxygens, volume growth in soda ash and the continued mix shift toward specialty peroxygens."
Share and per share financial data discussed in this press release and the accompanying financial tables reflect the two-for-one split of FMC's common stock completed May 24, 2012.
Full report
Topics
Species
