FMC Corporation delivers record fourth quarter results, guides strong growth for 2022

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --

Fourth Quarter 2021 Highlights

• Revenue of $1.41 billion, an increase of 23 percent versus Q4 2020 and up 25 percent organically¹
• Consolidated GAAP net income of $187 million, up 296 percent versus Q4 2020
• Adjusted EBITDA of $377 million, up 30 percent versus Q4 2020
• Consolidated GAAP earnings of $1.52 per diluted share, up 300 percent versus Q4 2020
• Adjusted earnings per diluted share of $2.16, up 52 percent versus Q4 2020
• Share repurchases of $100 million

Full-Year 2021 Highlights

• Revenue of $5.05 billion, reflecting 9 percent growth and 8 percent organic growth¹
• Consolidated GAAP net income of $734 million, up 33 percent versus 2020
• Adjusted EBITDA of $1.324 billion, up 6 percent versus 2020
• Consolidated GAAP earnings of $5.70 per diluted share, up 35 percent versus 2020
• Adjusted earnings per diluted share of $6.93, up 12 percent versus 2020
• Consolidated GAAP cash flow from operations of $899 million, up 22 percent versus 2020
• Free cash flow of $713 million, up 31 percent versus 2020
• Returned over $645 million to shareholders, including $400 million in share repurchases

Full-Year 2022 Outlook²

• Revenue in the range of $5.25 to $5.55 billion, reflecting 7 percent growth at the midpoint versus 2021
• Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $1.32 to $1.48 billion, reflecting 6 percent growth at the midpoint versus 2021
• Adjusted earnings per diluted share are expected to be in the range of $6.80 to $8.10, reflecting 8 percent growth at the midpoint versus 2021, excluding any impact from potential 2022 share repurchases
• Free cash flow is expected to be in the range of $515 to $735 million
• Company expects to repurchase $500 to $600 million of FMC shares in 2022

FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) today reported record fourth quarter 2021 results with revenue of $1.41 billion, an increase of 23 percent versus fourth quarter 2020, driven by strong demand and pricing actions. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, year-over-year sales grew 25 percent organically. On a GAAP basis, the company reported earnings of $1.52 per diluted share in the fourth quarter, compared to $0.38 per diluted share in the fourth quarter 2020. Adjusted earnings were $2.16 per diluted share, an increase of 52 percent versus fourth quarter 2020, and 16 cents above the midpoint of guidance.

"Our financial performance reflects the strength of our synthetic and biological portfolios, a healthy demand environment as well as accelerating price increases. Revenue growth was particularly robust in North America and Latin America," said Mark Douglas, FMC president and chief executive officer. "FMC delivered results above the mid-point of our guidance in spite of elevated input costs, FX headwinds and challenges with raw material availability impacting the company and the broader industry."

Fourth quarter revenue growth was driven by 21 percent contribution from volume and 4 percent contribution from price with a 2 percent currency headwind. FMC achieved higher pricing in all regions, with the highest benefit in the quarter coming from North America and Latin America. North America grew substantially with revenue increasing 81 percent versus fourth quarter 2020. Growth was driven by a combination of strong selective herbicide volumes, higher prices, new products and continued market expansion of Rynaxypyr^® and Cyazypyr^® active ingredients. Similarly, revenue in Latin America grew 30 percent year-over-year driven by robust demand in corn and soybeans, price increases and accelerating sales of biologicals, partially offset by weakening of the Brazilian real. In Asia, revenue was down 3 percent compared to fourth quarter 2020, primarily due to weather challenges in several countries, including China. This offset solid growth in Australia and India, as well as broad-based pricing actions in the region. In Australia, successful new product introductions, supported by good agronomic conditions and rising commodity prices, led to strong volume demand. India had solid growth across the portfolio in rice, pulses and sugarcane. In EMEA, revenue decreased 8 percent versus fourth quarter 2020, reflecting year-over-year impact of a shift in global diamide partner volumes across regions. Excluding revenue from the global partnerships, the region grew 9 percent driven by diamide and cereal herbicide volumes as well as price increases partially offset by weakening of the euro and other European currencies. FMC's Plant Health business delivered 19 percent year-over-year growth in the quarter driven by continued market expansion as well as price increases in Latin America and Asia.

For the full year, FMC reported revenue of $5.05 billion, an increase of 9 percent compared to 2020.  Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, year-over-year sales grew 8 percent organically.  On a GAAP basis, the company reported full-year earnings of $734 million, or $5.70 per diluted share, which represent year-over-year increases of 33 percent and 35 percent, respectively.  Full-year adjusted earnings were $6.93 per diluted share, an increase of 12 percent compared to the prior year. 

On a GAAP basis, cash flow from operations was $899 million, an increase of 22 percent versus 2020. Free cash flow in 2021 was $713 million, an increase of 31 percent versus 2020. This was above the guidance range primarily due to significantly higher-than-expected advance payments in North America and better-than-expected collections in all regions.

Full Year 2022 Outlook²

The company is forecasting full-year 2022 revenue to be in the range of $5.25 billion to $5.55 billion, an increase of 7 percent at the midpoint versus 2021 driven by volume and price growth in all regions partially offset by currency headwinds. Full-year adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $1.32 billion to $1.48 billion, representing 6 percent year-over-year growth at the midpoint. 2022 adjusted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $6.80 to $8.10, representing a year-over-year increase of 8 percent at the midpoint, excluding any impact from potential 2022 share repurchases and assuming weighted average diluted shares outstanding (WADSO) of approximately 127 million. Full-year free cash flow is expected to be $515 million to $735 million.

"Looking ahead to 2022, we anticipate strong commodity prices will continue to drive demand for our differentiated product portfolio. We expect raw material, logistics and packaging input costs to remain at elevated levels and potentially inflate further. FX volatility is a growing challenge in some of the countries where we operate. FMC will continue to strive to mitigate these headwinds through volume growth, strong pricing actions and proactive cost discipline," said Douglas.

First Quarter 2022 Outlook²

First quarter 2022 revenue is expected to be in the range of $1.22 billion to $1.34 billion, representing a 7 percent increase at the midpoint compared to first quarter 2021. Adjusted EBITDA is forecast to be in the range of $300 million to $350 million, representing a 6 percent increase at the midpoint versus first quarter 2021.  FMC expects adjusted earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $1.50 to $1.90 in the first quarter, an increase of 11 percent at the midpoint.

New Share Repurchase Authorization³

FMC's Board of Directors authorized a new $1 billion share repurchase program confirming confidence in the company's ability to sustainably generate strong cash flow in 2022 and beyond. This further confirms the company's commitment to return to shareholders cash in excess of that needed to support growth of the business.

Supplemental Information

The company will post supplemental information on the web at https://investors.fmc.com, including its webcast slides for tomorrow's earnings call, definitions of non-GAAP terms and reconciliations of non-GAAP figures to the nearest available GAAP term.

About FMC

FMC Corporation is a global agricultural sciences company dedicated to helping growers produce food, feed, fiber and fuel for an expanding world population while adapting to a changing environment. FMC's innovative crop protection solutions – including biologicals, crop nutrition, digital and precision agriculture – enable growers, crop advisers and turf and pest management professionals to address their toughest challenges economically while protecting the environment. With approximately 6,400 employees at more than 100 sites worldwide, FMC is committed to discovering new herbicide, insecticide and fungicide active ingredients, product formulations and pioneering technologies that are consistently better for the planet. Visit fmc.com to learn more and follow us on LinkedIn^® and Twitter^®. 

Always read and follow all label directions, restrictions and precautions for use. Products listed here may not be registered for sale or use in all states, countries or jurisdictions. FMC, the FMC logo, Rynaxypyr and Cyazypyr are trademarks of FMC Corporation or an affiliate.

Statement under the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:  FMC and its representatives may from time to time make written or oral statements that are "forward-looking" and provide other than historical information, including statements contained in this press release, in FMC's other filings with the SEC, and in reports or letters to FMC stockholders.

In some cases, FMC has identified forward-looking statements by such words or phrases as "will likely result," "is confident that," "expect," "expects," "should," "could," "may," "will continue to," "believe," "believes," "anticipates," "predicts," "forecasts," "estimates," "projects," "potential," "intends" or similar expressions identifying "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the negative of those words and phrases. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's current views and assumptions regarding future events, future business conditions and the outlook for the company based on currently available information. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. Currently, one of the most significant factors is the potential adverse effect of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and performance of FMC, which is substantially influenced by the potential adverse effect of the pandemic on FMC's customers and suppliers and the global economy and financial markets. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts us will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the scope, severity and duration of the pandemic, the actions taken to contain the pandemic or mitigate its impact, and the direct and indirect economic effects of the pandemic and containment measures, among others.  Additional factors include, among other things, the risk factors included within FMC's 2020 Form 10-K filed with the SEC. Moreover, investors are cautioned to interpret many of these factors as being heightened as a result of the ongoing and numerous adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

FMC cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the above cautionary statement. FMC undertakes no obligation, and specifically disclaims any duty, to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which they were made, except as otherwise required by law.

This press release contains certain "non-GAAP financial terms" which are defined on our website www.fmc.com/investors. Such terms include adjusted EBITDA, adjusted earnings, free cash flow and organic revenue growth. In addition, we have also provided on our website reconciliations of non-GAAP terms to the most directly comparable GAAP term.

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SOURCE FMC Corporation