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  • Q4 2024 Crop Input Company Results Summary for Week of February 3rd to 7th: FMC, Corteva, Nufarm, Lavoro and Yara International

Q4 2024 Crop Input Company Results Summary for Week of February 3rd to 7th: FMC, Corteva, Nufarm, Lavoro and Yara International

February 08, 2025 • Read Time: 26 minutes

Index:

  1. Corteva

  2. FMC

  3. UPL

  4. Nufarm

  5. Yara

  6. Lavoro

Each quarter in Upstream Ag Professional, I shrewdly analyze publicly traded agribusiness earnings, cutting through the noise to highlight the key takeaways that matter for those of us working in the agriculture industry.

By breaking down earnings results and executive commentary, I provide the strategic insights agribusiness professionals need to stay ahead.

The below is just one portion—more deep dives on the most influential agribusinesses, their market positioning, and strategic initiatives are coming.

If you want to be the best-informed in the industry, you’re in the right place.

Q4 2024 Performance

  • Net Sales — $4.0 billion (+7% YoY)

  • Organic Sales Growth — +13%

  • Operating EBITDA — $525 million (+36% YoY)

  • Operating Margins — 13.2%

Full-Year 2024 Performance

  • Net Sales — $16.9B (-2% YoY)

  • Organic Sales Growth — +1%

  • Operating EBITDA — $3.4B (flat YoY)

  • Operating Margin — 20%

Seed revenue came in at $9.5 billion with CP revenue coming in at $7.36 billion, or about 43% CP and 57% seed.

If we look at operating margin, 64% of operating margins are coming from seed, compared to ~36% from CP.

Segment Performance — Seed

  • Q4 — Net sales of $1.8 billion (+8% YoY), organic growth of +16%.

  • FY 2024 — Net sales of $9.5B (+1%), organic growth of +4%.

  • Growth driven by pricing gains and market share increases in North America and Brazil​.

The Corteva seed business maintained its Pioneer brands as the number one corn and soybean brand in The U. S.

Corteva gained corn market share in North America.

Enlist E3 Soybeans, reinforced it’s position as the highest selling soybean technology in the U. S. It reached 65% market penetration, due to the outbound licensing strategy around Enlist traits. The Enlist system, including herbicide offerings, reached $1.9 billion in sales in 2024.

Segment Performance — Crop Protection

  • Q4 — Net sales of $2.2 billion (+6% YoY), organic growth of +11%.

  • FY 2024 — Net sales of $7.4 billion (-5%), organic growth of -2%.

Crop Protection was generally challenged in 2024, with most markets down outside Asia Pacific, leading to an overall 5% decrease in revenue, however strong margins:

Q4 was a really strong quarter for us. And for the overall Crop Protection business (and margins), it was a record quarter as you called out. In Brazil, they had a really good quarter, especially when you compare to the previous year and year over year comp. And that is part of the large numbers you're seeing, but not to minimize the effort that the teams put in there. The drivers came from the usual suspects that we've talked about, biologicals, new products in those areas and some spinosum sales as well. So it fell just in line with our key drivers to growth and that's really what drove a lot of the margin increase on a year over year basis as compared to the prior year. The additional I would say is fungicides and insecticides experienced some solid growth in Q4 and that's an area that typically has higher margins as compared to herbicides as well. So our mix helped out there also. And then finally, I'll land on cost. Earlier in the call, we mentioned on that. But in Q4, we took $170,000,000 of cost out on a year over year basis.

Corteva’s Spinosans products delivered double digit volume gains in 2024.

For biologicals, Corteva saw mid-single digit volume increases in 2024. Lower than I would have expected, but likely driven by challenges within Brazil, where over 80% of their revenue in the bio-segment comes from.

2025 Outlook

Full-year 2025, Corteva expects net sales in the range of $17.2 billion to $17.6 billion, growth of 3%. Operating EBITDA is expected to be $3.6 billion to $3.8 billion, growth of 10%.

Other Interesting Quotes

Separating Seed from CP

Analyst Question:

You know, you're now almost 70% seeds. Could it ever make sense for you guys to separate out crop protection from seeds to enhance the equity value?

CEO, Chuck Magro answer:

Look, we look at almost everything under the sun when it comes to how do we create long term value creation. Nothing is off the table. We're constantly looking at our portfolio. We're constantly looking externally at how to use the balance sheet and the cash flow we're generating. And so I wouldn't take anything off the table. However, if you think about how the company is built, right, we're built around a farmer, a global farmer and they need an integrated set of tools, especially when you look at how our R and D is completely integrated and working together and then how we go to market around the world. All of those, there's significant, I'd say, synergies and leverage we get. We're one of the only companies if you think about how Corteva is built that can bring a full acre solution starting with seed and then a crop protection and biological package now around that. And I think you're starting to see the value of that integrated offering in markets where we're working with farmers directly now. So, I would never take anything off the table. But when I look at the journey that we're on, I have a lot of confidence that the long term value creation that we've laid through all the way from R and D to how we built our channels to market and the technology we're bringing farmers, an integrated offering is going to be a powerful set of choices I think for farmers.

Seed order comments:

Dicamba, I think, one, from a label perspective and trying to speculate any at all, I think it's too early to call. If you look at where we're at today, we don't have any new information. But our order book for E3 is very, very healthy. We have seen orders come in from the South, which is kind of a long term dicamba holdout with the soy cotton rotation there.

Biologicals:

Biologicals is something that is moving into the North America market and our new partnerships that we've got set up there we're really excited about.

What’s most notable is how Corteva states “new partnerships.”

In various conversations what has been notable about Corteva’s strategy surrounding biological route to market is that it has similarities to their Pioneer strategy— instead of Corteva giving all retailers access to it’s biologicals line, it only gives access to those retails that take specific steps to identify a lead that has specific training requirements surrounding biologicals, insuring a baseline understanding of the products and how to position them. 

The approach keeps other lower-effort retailers from simply capitalizing on the demand generated by progressive retailers. This approach also includes unique programming to the select retailer which enables them to be in a better cost position when selling to the farmer.

I still suspect Corteva will sell bio-based products through their Pioneer channel, but this better enables them to insure a more value-added conversation and positioning happening with these more challenging to sell products.

FMC reported revenue reaching $1.22 billion, marking a 7% increase year-over-year (YoY) and 12% organic growth.

The company's performance was primarily driven by a 15% volume gain, fueled by its growth portfolio, while foreign exchange (FX) headwinds of 5% and pricing pressure of 3% presented challenges. Sales of growth portfolio products accounted for over 75% of the revenue growth.

FMCs growth portfolio includes includes base molecules that are data or IP protected. Cyazypyr, the four new active ingredients, fluindapyr (fungicide), Isoflex (herbicide), Dodhylex (herbicide), and rimisoxafen (herbicide) and plant health portfolio (biologicals) constitute the “growth” portfolio. All other prodycts fall under what FMC calls its “core” portfolio. Their other diamide, Rynaxypyr is a part of the core portfolio along with the rates of our legacy products.

Brightest segments of the business included North America sales increasing 23% YoY, along with the Plant Health business experiencing a 33% increase in revenue, largely attributed to stronger sales in biologicals​​.

FMC reported a GAAP net loss of $16 million, a 101% decline compared to Q4 2023, primarily due to one-time tax benefits recorded in the prior year. EBITDA margin was 27.7% in Q4, an all-time Q4 high.

Full Year 2024

For the full year 2024, FMC's revenue totaled $4.25 billion, representing a 5% decline compared to 2023, or 3% lower on an organic basis. The company attributed this decline to pricing pressures across all regions, a 2% FX headwind, and channel inventory corrections. However, volume growth remained a positive factor, with new active ingredients fluindapyr and Isoflex contributing significantly, generating approximately $130 million in sales.

Regionally, North America delivered the strongest performance, with revenue growing 23% YoY. Latin America, however, declined by 10%, largely impacted by channel destocking and dry weather in Argentina and Mexico. Asia saw a 10% revenue increase, supported by strong sales of Isoflex herbicide and branded Cyazypyr® products, while EMEA posted an 18% YoY revenue gain, driven by higher volumes in most countries​.

Looking ahead to 2025, FMC expects revenue between $4.15 billion and $4.35 billion, with 3% growth when adjusting for the divestiture of its Global Specialty Solutions (GSS) business. The company anticipates lower COGDS in 2025, driven by lower raw material costs, favorable fixed cost absorption, and additional restructuring benefits.

Q1 2025 Outlook

FMC even expanded on prospects out to 2027, along with setting the stage for the areas I will cover below: diamides, inventory, new products and new routes to market:

Combining the core and growth portfolio leads to expected 2027 sales of about $5.2 billion. EBITDA is expected to be about $1.2 billion, equating to a 23% EBITDA margin, which is at the higher end of our industry. This is a revenue annual growth of 7% from '24 to '27 with EBITDA growth at 10%. From '25 to '27, revenue grows at an annual rate of 11% with EBITDA growing at 15% rate. We are highly confident in the growth path of the company.

I believe FMC has the strongest pipeline in its history. But we are also conscious that taking full advantage of it requires a repositioning of the company in 2025. That is why we will realign our inventory level, implement the newly developed diamide strategy, and invest in our sales organization to support a growth portfolio and develop new routes to market.

For a deeper dive into FMC, which had its executives dive deeply into their diamide strategy, go-to-market, inventory and intellectual property, see the new Upstream Ag Professional breakdown:

  • Revenue Growth – UPL’s agriculture segment reported Q3FY25 revenue of ~$1.02 billion USD (₹8,497 crore), marking an 8% YoY increase.

  • EBITDA Performance — EBITDA stood at ~$199 million USD (₹1,655 crore), a 132% YoY increase, due to improved product mix, rebate normalization, and lower costs​.

  • EBITDA Margin — 19.5%, up drastically from the negative Q3 2024 margin.

Regional Performance

  • North America – Revenue grew 67% YoY to ~$166 million USD (₹1,379 crore), driven by strong in-season demand and near-normal channel inventory levels​.

  • Latin America – 12% YoY revenue growth to ~$528 million USD (₹4,380 crore), supported by strong fungicide and insecticide sales, with products like Mancozeb and Feroce® leading the market​.

  • Europe – 23% YoY revenue increase to ~$127 million USD (₹1,053 crore), fueled by fungicide growth (Proxanil®) and strong demand for biological solutions​.

  • Rest of the World – Revenue declined 4% YoY to ~$198 million USD (₹1,647 crore), impacted by pricing pressures​.

From CEO Mike Frank:

Revenue growth in our NPP business was driven by a mix of improved pricing as well as higher volumes led by biostimulants in both Europe and Brazil. And additionally, growth was supported by biocontrol volumes in Europe.

And on UPLs targeted differentiated and sustainable portfolio segment:

We grew our differentiated and sustainable volumes by 16% versus last year, led by Mancozeb-based 3-way evolution in Brazil and acetate-based Feroce

  • Seeds (Advanta Segment) – Revenue grew 11% YoY to ~$120 million USD (₹999 crore), led by grain sorghum (Argentina), sunflower (Argentina, Europe), and corn (India), though margins were under pressure due to crop mix and higher production costs​.

Notable Quotes

UPL CEO Mike Frank reinforcing the UPL view that destocking is largely complete:

We believe that for the most part, in most regions, the destocking has been complete. And there's a good balance between what dealers and distributors are buying and what they're selling them to the farmers. And so there's always going to be some exceptions to the rule based on price or timing of when a season takes place. But generally speaking, we now believe we're in a balanced supply to the channel and the channel sales to the growers. And so the destocking is largely complete.

With active ingredient prices now stable at the current levels, our considerable focus on process efficiencies have significantly contributed to improving product and EBITDA margins.

On pricing:

The pricing uptick in this quarter is really a result of the normalization of the rebates and the elimination of high-cost inventory, which was really liquidated to a large degree last year.

So from a product-by-product basis, our prices are relatively stable in the market. But of course, with fresh inventory and now that we're running with lower inventory levels, that is also helping improve our margins.

Regarding competitive dynamics:

I think the growers are really looking for every opportunity to look for how they can save money and really invest in high-quality, high-value products, which again, I think that's where we're also winning from a market share standpoint

This is a good take. UPL is interestingly positioned in that they have generic background, so they know how to operate in the lower cost commodity-type crop protection categories, but are now layering in new molecules and products which enable them to create unique products that solve farmer problems at a price point that is palatable to the farmer, while still strong for them on a margin basis.

Reinforced by the following statement:

We're seeing some active ingredients, get priced up a little bit or price down depending on which way the raw materials are going. And so again, that's our planning scenario as we go forward. Based on that and based on the good work that we've done across our plants from Raj and his team really looking at ways that we can de-bottleneck or increase yields. We're able to compete aggressively in the marketplace. And as you've seen in our margins in Q3, we really believe that this is the margin profile going forward with the opportunity as we think about the next 12 and 24 months to continue to drive our new product launches, which are primarily in the differentiated and sustainable segment, which we know have a higher overall margin profile. And so yes, that's how we look at our margin profile going forward.

On the NPP business:

If the grower doesn't see value in the products and technologies and ultimately, nothing else matters. And I think in our NPP business, the strength of our portfolio, the capability of our sales organization and the investment that we've made in helping train our sales team, providing them the right tools that they can walk in and talk to our dealers and our pharma customers about the value of biostimulants, that has really helped us drive that segment we've seen that every quarter this year, and we believe we're going to see it again in Q4. Now secondly, the other part of our portfolio in NPP that's growing our natural plant protection is our biocontrol products. And so as you mentioned, the regulatory framework in many regions, not Europe, but many regions outside of Europe has a fast track for biocontrol products to enter the marketplace.

On private label opportunity in North America:

I would say that segment is growing slightly, it's not transforming in terms of the percent of the market. Again, I think each of the distributors looks at it a bit differently. And so where there's opportunity, we are growing that part of our business. Again, I think it's based on the quality of our products, the fact that we can compete aggressively on price and lastly, maybe the uncertainty over tariffs from China, all of those things contribute, I think, to the ability for us to continue to grow that segment.

UPL did experience down small setbacks from the AgroGalaxy bankruptcy:

So we did experience in the second quarter some Chapter 11 bankruptcies that did have an impact on our business. One of our large distributors went into Chapter 11 in our second quarter, and we announced at that time an ECL of approximately USD 8 million as a result of that Chapter 11.

Financial Performance

Nufarm reported revenue of A$3.35 billion, a 4% decline year over year, reflecting challenging market conditions.

Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) showed a loss of A$6 million, a sharp reversal from the A$111 million profit in FY23. EBITDA fell 29 percent to A$313 million, primarily driven by pricing pressures in key markets.

Regional Performance

North America contributed 38% of total revenue, maintaining steady sales at A$1.27 billion, but EBITDA declined 49% due to pricing pressures across crop protection products.

Europe’s revenue fell 6 percent to A$808 million, with a 25% EBITDA decline, while Asia-Pacific (APAC) saw an 11 percent revenue drop to A$864.6 million.

Business Segments

Crop Protection generated 15 percent of its revenue from new product introductions, including the launch of Oxbow™ herbicide in Canada. This is in line with competitors such as FMC and UPL, which also derive approximately 15 percent of revenue from new products.

Seed Technologies expanded its market presence, achieving A$50 million in Omega-3 sales, marking a 4 percent year-over-year increase.

Strategic Initiatives

Nufarm is pursuing multiple growth strategies, including strengthening its hybrid canola market in Australia and expanding into South America.

The Omega-3 segment achieved A$50 million in sales and aims to double revenue to A$100 million in FY25. In the biofuels sector, Nufarm expanded Carinata planting in Uruguay and Brazil, reinforcing its role in EU sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandates.

For more on seed and trait trends, see this January 12th 2025 edition of Upstream Ag Professional.

Operational Focus & 2025 Outlook

The company remains focused on cost-saving initiatives, targeting A$50 million in reductions by FY25. In crop protection, pricing is expected to stabilize, helping to mitigate recent margin pressures. Omega-3 revenue is projected to double, reaching A$100 million, positioning it as a key growth driver. With ongoing cost control and strategic market expansions, Nufarm aims for a more resilient financial performance in FY25.

Overall Financial Performance (4Q 2024)

Yara reported total revenue of $3.4 billion, a slight decline from $3.6 billion in 4Q 2023. Operating income fell to -$3 million, compared to $276 million in the prior year. EBITDA (excluding special items) stood at $519 million, reflecting a 10 percent decrease from $576 million in 4Q 2023. The company recorded a net loss of $290 million, a stark contrast to the $246 million profit in the same quarter last year. Despite these challenges, Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) improved to 5.0 percent, up from 2.9% in 4Q 2023.

Key Financial Drivers

Yara’s EBITDA was negatively impacted by $140 million due to lower nitrogen upgrading margins, while gas costs remained stable but still weighed on overall profitability. In Europe, fertilizer deliveries surged 22% year over year, indicating a strong demand recovery, whereas the Americas experienced flat deliveries but suffered a 22% year-over-year drop in EBITDA due to weaker margins. The company successfully executed $90 million in cost reductions, including $20 million from divestments, $25 million from currency effects, and additional savings from external cost optimization and workforce reductions.

Fertilizer & Industrial Product Performance

Yara achieved record-high fertilizer production, with ammonia output reaching 7.18 million tonnes (up from 6.39 million tonnes in 2023) and finished fertilizer production climbing to 19.69 million tonnes (up from 18.44 million tonnes). Nitrate production also grew 7.9% year over year to 5.94 million tonnes.

Total fertilizer deliveries increased to 22.94 million tonnes (from 22.27 million tonnes in 2023). In North America, total deliveries rose to 2.90 million tonnes, with urea deliveries at 2.09 million tonnes (+5 percent) and nitrate deliveries at 857,000 tonnes (+22 percent). Premium fertilizer sales increased 5%, particularly for NPK and nitrate-based products, while specialty fertilizer and industrial product sales grew in North America.

North America-Specific Insights

Yara’s North American revenue declined to $391 million in 4Q 2024, down from $415 million in the prior year. The region is forecasting a strong urea market in early 2025, driven by tight global supply and demand, low Chinese exports, and a reduction in US nitrogen imports.

North American deliveries grew by 4% year over year.

Industry Outlook & 2025 Projections

Yara expects fertilizer prices to rise in early 2025, supported by tight nitrogen markets, robust demand recovery in Europe and North America, and limited new urea capacity additions worldwide. However, rising natural gas costs pose a challenge, with first-quarter 2025 costs projected to be $85 million higher year over year and second-quarter 2025 costs expected to increase by $225 million year over year.

Commentary

Progression towards targets?

The below is underwhelming, and if I was an investor I would be disappointed in their approach to conveying “progress:”

They suggest progress, but DO NOT quantify anything. For example, they indicate “progress” towards premium generated, but then when you dig into the numbers, there is actually a decline from 2023 to 2024:

It’s strange too, considering they suggest premiums for products like NPK are ~flat to down:

Yet deliveries of premium products are up:

But overall from 2023 to 2024, premium generated is down 25%.

CFO on ROIC, a key metric for fertilizer companies:

The negative special items and tax impacts I just described resulted in a ROIC of only 0.5% for the quarter in isolation. However, for the full year, ROIC was 5% on a 12-month rolling basis, showing an improvement from 2.9% in 2023, but clearly with more work needed to reach a satisfactory return level.

Lavoro reported Q1 2025 revenue of R$2.05 billion, a 13% decline year-over-year (-24% in USD terms) due to persistent input price deflation in Brazil's ag retail segment.

The Crop Care division was a bright spot, growing 68% to R$293.7 million (+48% in USD), driven by strong sales from Union Agro (specialty fertilizers) and Perterra (post-patent agrochemicals).

However, Brazil Ag Retail revenue dropped 23% (-32% in USD), primarily due to last year's input price declines and liquidity constraints among farmers. Gross profit improved 10% to R$321.2 million, with margins expanding 320 basis points to 15.6%, supported by better inventory cost positioning in Brazil Ag Retail.

Despite improved margins, Lavoro posted a net loss of R$267.1 million, compared to R$71.0 million in Q1 2024, largely due to deferred tax asset adjustments (R$152.1 million impact) and higher finance costs (R$60.7 million increase). Adjusted EBITDA fell 5% to R$54.4 million (-16% in USD), as higher SG&A expenses, including expired inventory provisions and personnel costs, offset the gross profit gains.

By segment, Brazil Ag Retail faced the largest revenue drop, falling 23%, though margins improved due to stronger crop protection and fertilizer distribution profits. Latam Ag Retail grew 4% (-8% in USD), supported by Colombian peso appreciation but impacted by delayed planting seasons. Crop Care delivered the strongest growth but saw margin compression from shifts in product mix, particularly lower-margin specialty fertilizers and agrochemicals weighing against higher-margin biologicals.

Looking forward, Lavoro has revised its FY2025 outlook downward, citing ongoing tightening of inventory financing in Brazil. The company now expects consolidated revenue between R$6.5 billion and R$7.5 billion, with input revenue between R$5.9 billion and R$6.9 billion. In USD terms, revenue is forecasted between $1.12 billion and $1.28 billion. Lavoro no longer anticipates Adjusted EBITDA growth in FY2025, signaling continued headwinds in the Brazil Ag Retail sector​.