(Reuters) — Bunge beat fourth-quarter profit estimates recently as robust soybean crushing margins and strong demand for food, feed and biofuel bolstered its core agribusiness unit.
The favourable market factors will likely continue to support profits above historical averages in 2023, Bunge executives said, but cautioned that the company could struggle to repeat its record 2022 profit this year.
The company’s fourth-quarter processing results were dented by elevated energy costs in Europe and tight South American soybean supplies. The agribusiness unit also recorded US$80 million in charges last year on inventory losses in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
The company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.24 per share, down from $3.49 a year earlier but above the $3.22 expected by analysts.
