ADM Places CFO On Administrative Leave, Sees FY23 Adj EPS Below View

(RTTNews) - ADM (ADM) said it placed its Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Vikram Luthar, on administrative leave, effective immediately. It appointed Ismael Roig as Interim Chief Financial Officer.

According to the company, Luthar's leave is pending an ongoing investigation being conducted by outside counsel for ADM and the Board's Audit Committee regarding certain accounting practices and procedures with respect to ADM's Nutrition reporting segment, including as related to certain intersegment transactions. ADM's investigation was initiated in response to its receipt of a voluntary document request by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. ADM is cooperating with the SEC.

Meanwhile, ADM now expects adjusted earnings per share to be above $6.90 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, subject to completion of annual close processes and related internal controls. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $7.28 per share for fiscal year 2023. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company also expects to report fourth quarter and full year 2023 operating profit for its AS&O and Carbohydrate Solutions reporting segments in line with previous indications provided on the October 24, 2023 third quarter 2023 earnings call. Due to the ongoing investigation, ADM withdraws all of its forward-looking outlook for the Nutrition reporting segment.