LUXEMBOURG,
March 14,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Adecoagro S.A. (NYSE:
AGRO, Bloomberg: AGRO US, Reuters:
AGRO.K), a leading sustainable production company in South America, announced today its results for
the fourth quarter ended December 31,
2023. The financial information contained in this press
release is based on consolidated financial statements presented in
US dollars and prepared in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) except for Non - IFRS measures. Please
refer to page 27 for a definition and reconciliation to IFRS of the
Non - IFRS measures used in this earnings release.
Main highlights for the
period:
- All-time records in Gross sales, Adjusted EBITDA,
Adjusted Free Cash Flow from Operations (NCFO) and operational
metrics, driven by a remarkable performance of the Company
throughout the year.
- Gross sales were 6.7% higher in 2023 on greater cane
productivity, which enabled us to increase our sugar production and
execute sales at solid prices; coupled with an increase in average
selling prices in the Rice and Dairy segments.
- Adjusted EBITDA was $476.6
million, 10.1% above 2022, driven by (i) an outperformance
of the Rice and Sugar, Ethanol & Energy segments, together with
(ii) a farm sale in Argentina.
This, in turn, has fully offset the decline reported in the Crops
segment driven by an unprecedented drought and higher
costs.
- NCFO in 2023 stood at $175.9
million, 24.5% higher year-over-year, resulting in a minimum
distribution of $70.3 million to be
paid in 2024 via dividend and share repurchase. Net debt came down
by 25.9% to $502.5 million on (i)
greater cash generation and (ii) lower debt levels thanks to the
Company's financial strategy. Net debt/Adjusted EBITDA stood at
1.1x.
Full year results
overview:
- 2023 started as a challenging year as our operations in
Argentina and Uruguay suffered the effects of extreme dry
weather. Despite this, we delivered strong results quarter after
quarter, showing the company's resilience. This was achieved thanks
to our geographic and product diversification, our flexibility to
shift across markets and products, our focus on being low-cost
producers, and our ability to adapt our financial strategy to
profit from opportunities in the Argentine market.
- Along with the investments carried out throughout the
past years across all our operations, this culminated in all-time
records for the Company's main financial metrics, as well as in
better operational indicators (excluding Crops). At a consolidated
level, Adjusted EBITDA amounted to $476.6
million, marking a 10.1% year-over-year increase, and
Adjusted Free Cash Flow from Operations (NCFO) reached $175.9 million, 24.5% higher than in 2022. Cash
generated was distributed to shareholders, invested in growth
projects and used to deleverage - a 25.9% year-over-year reduction
in our net debt position to $502.5
million, reaching 1.1x Net Debt/EBITDA.
Remarks
2023 Shareholder
Distribution
- During 2023, we distributed a total of $61.2 million, or 43% of the NCFO generated in
2022, representing a distribution yield of 5.9%. This was executed
via the repurchase of 2.7 million shares at an average price of
$9.54 per share (2.5% of the
company's equity), totaling $26.2
million. In addition, we distributed cash dividends in the
amount of $35.0 million, paid in two
installments of $17.5 million each in
May and November 2023, representing
approximately $0.33 per
share.
2024 Announced Shareholder
Distribution
- In 2023, we generated $175.9
million of NCFO, which implies a minimum distribution of
$70.3 million to be distributed via a
combination of cash dividend and share buyback throughout 2024.
Cash dividends will amount to $35.0
million to be paid in two installments of $17.5 million each, in or about May and
November 2024. Such dividend
distribution is subject to the approval of the annual shareholder
meeting to be held next April 17th.
The balance will be distributed via buybacks and/or dividends as
the case may be.
- During the first two months of the year, we repurchased
1.8 million shares (1.7% of the company's equity) under our
existing share buyback program at an average price of $10.19 per share, totaling $18.1 million.
Commitment to reduce 20% our carbon
footprint by 2030
- We are proud to announce our 2030 commitment to reduce
carbon intensity by 20% relative to 2021 (base year: 0.31
intensity). This target considers all our Scope 1 and Scope 2 net
emissions and the total production volume of our
business.
Non-Gaap Financial
Measures: For a full reconciliation of
non-gaap financial measures please refer to page 27 of our 4Q23
Earnings Release found on Adecoagro's website
(ir.adecoagro.com)
Forward-Looking
Statements: This press release contains
forward-looking statements that are based on our current
expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about us and
our industry. These forward-looking statements can be
identified by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "forecast",
"believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is/are
likely to," "may," "plan," "should," "would," or other similar
expressions.
These forward-looking statements involve
various risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that our
expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are
reasonable, our expectations may turn out to be incorrect.
Our actual results could be materially different from our
expectations. In light of the risks and uncertainties described
above, the estimates and forward-looking statements discussed in
this press release might not occur, and our future results and our
performance may differ materially from those expressed in these
forward-looking statements due to, inclusive, but not limited to,
the factors mentioned above. Because of these uncertainties,
you should not make any investment decision based on these
estimates and forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements made in
this press release relate only to events or information as of the
date on which the statements are made in this press release.
We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements
to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the
statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.
To read the full 4Q23 earnings release,
please access ir.adecoagro.com. A conference call to discuss 4Q23
results will be held on March 15,
2024, with a live webcast through the
internet:
Conference Call
March 15,
2024
10
a.m. US EST
11
a.m. Buenos
Aires
11 a.m.
Sao
Paulo
3 p.m.
Luxembourg
To participate, please register at
the link
Investor Relations
Department
Emilio
Gnecco
CFO
Victoria
Cabello
IRO
Email:
ir@adecoagro.com
About Adecoagro:
Adecoagro is a leading sustainable
production company in South
America. Adecoagro owns 213.5 thousand hectares of farmland
and several industrial facilities spread across the most productive
regions of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, where it produces over 2.8 million
tons of agricultural products and over 1 million MWh of renewable
electricity.
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SOURCE Adecoagro S.A.