DuPont’s Crop Protection, Seed Soar in Latin America
25 January 2012 DuPont reported tough markets for several of its key businesses for the end of 2011, but once again, it was agriculture that led the way: Latin America is simply dominating growth at the multinational chemical companies.
“The real story is the Latin American summer season,” CEO Ellen Kullman said on a conference call, “led by demand for seeds in Latin America coupled with more than 85% insect penetration in Brazil corn.” Sales in the region climbed more than 40% in the second half of 2011, driven by a 55% leap in Brazil’s summer corn sales.
Total agriculture business sales for the fourth quarter totaled $1.3 billion, up 8% on 5% higher selling prices and 3% higher volume, it said. For the full year, higher volumes lifted the segment’s sales by 23%.
Demand in Latin America and Asia pushed its Rynaxypyr insecticide sales in 2011 to $580 million – accounting for about 20% of its crop protection sales. It will launch the next product in the line, Cyazypyr, “in the later part of 2012,” Kullman said.
Crop protection sales for the quarter rose 9% to $676 million, citing growth across all major product lines in most regions. All regions posted double-digit sales gains in the second half led by the Latin American market on volume growth and higher prices. Full-year crop protection sales totaled $2.9 billion, up 16%.
“We continue to refresh and renew our crop protection portfolio by divesting older chemistries, while accelerating our R&D pipeline advancements and new product launches,” Karen Fletcher, vice president of investor relations, said on the call, adding that the company’s Kocide strobe and fungicide has showed growth over the past year.
Looking ahead to the first half of 2012 for its agriculture business, the Wilmington, Delaware-based company expects to agriculture unit sales to rise moderately with mid-single-digit earnings growth.
“Our assumptions center on strong operating performance in the businesses, delivering both volume growth and pricing gains, offset in part by the transient impacts of input cost increases, continued growth investments and most notably significant currency headwinds,” Fletcher added.
DuPont, which received regulatory approval last summer for Optimum AcreMax and Optimum AcreMax Xtra, expects to get clearance for the next product in the genetically engineered insect-resistant corn line, AcreMax XTreme, in the first half of this year. Field testing will begin this season.
Sales for its Pioneer Hi-Bred International seed business posted a 17% gain for the year to $6.3 billion, boosted by volume growth and higher prices. Success was underpinned by new product penetration, increased acreage and share gains in North America, volume growth and prices in Latin America and success growing in Europe and Asia, it said.
(Source: DuPont)
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