Corteva trims 2024 forecasts on pricing pressure in crop protection

(Reuters) -Corteva cut its annual sales and operating earnings forecasts on Wednesday as the U.S. agrichemicals maker faces declining prices at its crop protection unit, sending its shares down 5.7% in trading after the bell.

A decline in crop prices has forced farmers to rein in on spending, hurting demand for pesticides and insecticides.

"While the global crop protection industry volume has begun to stabilize, pricing pressures have become more pronounced due to the competitive environment and tighter farmer margins," the company said.

Corteva forecast operating earnings in the range of $2.60 to $2.80 per share, compared with $2.70 to $2.90 per share earlier.

Analysts on average were expecting operating earnings of $2.77 per share, according to LSEG data.

Corteva, which competes with Syngenta and German firms BASF and Bayer, expects net sales in the range of $17.2 billion to $17.5 billion, compared with $17.4 billion to $17.7 billion projected earlier.

Corteva's second-quarter crop protection sales were flat from a year earlier as an uptick in volumes was offset by a 5% decline in prices.

Demand for crop protection chemicals remain subdued in South America as floods in top grain producer Brazil hit demand.

Total net sales rose 1% to $6.11 billion, helped by a 2% rise in seed segment.

A 5% rise in prices, especially in North America where corn and soybean production is expected to remain elevated this year amid favorable weather conditions, supported the seeds business.

Corteva, spun off in 2019 after a merger between Dow Chemical and Dupont, reported operating income of $1.83 per share for the three months ended June 30, beat estimate of $1.73.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi and Sriraj Kalluvila)