In an October 30th release, Bunge Global Limited (BG) posted financial results for the 3rd quarter of FY 2024. The Company exceeded analysts’ projections on adjusted earnings by 7 percent. Bunge can be regarded as a bellwether for the commodities trading and processing sector. Along with competitors ADM, Cargill, Cofco and Dreyfus, all are subject to the risks of currency fluctuation, geopolitical events, climatic extremes, and increased cost of ingredients, labor and transport in a competitive world environment still restrained by COVID and conflict in the Ukraine and Middle East.
For Q3 of FY 2024 ending September 30th, net income was $221 million on total revenue of $12,908 million. Comparable figures for the 3rd quarter of fiscal 2023 ending September 30th were net income of $373 million on total revenue of $14,227 million. Diluted EPS fell from $2.47 for Q3 of FY 2023 to $1.56 for the most recent quarter. Revenue was down 9.3 percent from Q3 FY 2023. Gross margin declined from 7.4 to 6.0 percent and operating margin fell from 4.2 to 2.6 percent for the most recent quarter compared to Q3 FY 2023.
In commenting on results Greg Heckman, CEO, stated “Our team delivered a strong third quarter, staying nimble and leveraging our global platform to capture opportunities against shifting market dynamics around the world. We made progress on key priorities, including closing the sale of the BP Bunge Bioenergia joint venture and delivering value to our shareholders through share repurchases. At the same time, we continued to advance integration planning for our announced combination with Viterra, and have made progress toward the remaining regulatory approvals. He concluded “The third quarter has again proven the value of our global footprint, operating model and approach, which underscores the benefit of further diversification across geographies and crops that our combination with Viterra will bring.”
Bunge retained the FY 2024 projection for adjusted EPS at $9.25 based on evident headwinds and segment performance year to date. Capital expenditure will range from $1,200 to $1,400 million.
On June 30th 2024, Bunge posted assets of $25,267 million, against long-term debt and other obligations of $6,415 million. The Company had an intraday market capitalization of $11,540 million on November 1st. BG trades with a forward P/E of 8.7 and has ranged over a 52-week period from $82.45 to $114.92 with a 50-day moving average of $95.61. Twelve-month trailing operating margin was 3.1 percent and profit margin 2.1 percent. Return on assets over the past twelve months was 5.0 percent and the return on equity 10.9 percent.
BG closed at $87.95 on October 29th and closed at $86.86 post release on October 30th.