• Operating EBITDA Margin: Achieved 20% for the first time in 2024.
• Crop Protection Organic Sales Growth: Double-digit growth in Q4 2024, with 800 basis points of margin improvement.
• Enlist System Sales: Reached $1.9 billion in 2024.
• Operating Free Cash Flow: Improved by almost $500 million to approximately $1.7 billion in 2024.
• Shareholder Returns: Approximately $1.5 billion returned via dividends and share repurchases in 2024.
• Organic Sales Growth Q4 2024: Up 13%, with Seed up 16% and Crop Protection up 11%.
• Full-Year 2024 Organic Sales: Up 1% versus prior year.
• Operating EBITDA 2024: Approximately $3.4 billion, flat versus prior year.
• 2025 Operating EBITDA Guidance: Expected to be in the range of $3.6 billion to $3.8 billion.
• 2025 Operating EPS Guidance: Expected to be in the range of $2.70 to $2.95 per share.
• Free Cash Flow to EBITDA Conversion Rate 2025: Expected to be in the range of 40% to 45%.
• Currency Headwind 2025: Approximately $275 million impact on operating EBITDA.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 10 Warning Sign with CTVA.

Release Date: February 06, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Corteva Inc (NYSE:CTVA) achieved 20% operating EBITDA margins for the first time in 2024, despite challenging market conditions.
• The company reported double-digit organic sales growth and 800 basis points of margin improvement in the Crop Protection segment, particularly driven by demand in Brazil.
• Corteva Inc (NYSE:CTVA)'s Seed business maintained its position as the number-one corn and soybean brand in the US, with significant market share gains in North America.
• The Enlist E3 soybeans reached 65% market penetration in the US, contributing to $1.9 billion in sales in 2024.
• Operating free cash flow improved by nearly $500 million, reaching approximately $1.7 billion, with $1.5 billion returned to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

Negative Points

• Corteva Inc (NYSE:CTVA) faced competitive pricing pressures in Latin America, particularly impacting the Seed business.
• The company anticipates currency headwinds in 2025, primarily due to the Brazilian real and Canadian dollar, which could impact reported results.
• Crop Protection prices are expected to face low single-digit declines in 2025, despite signs of stabilization in the industry.
• The company is experiencing just-in-time purchasing behavior due to high interest rates, affecting inventory management.
• Corteva Inc (NYSE:CTVA) is dealing with potential impacts from trade policy changes, which could affect raw material sourcing and costs.

Q & A Highlights

Q: A lot has changed since November, especially in your Seed business. How should we think about these potential positives versus the FX risks as we try to triangulate the midpoint of your guidance? A: Charles Magro, CEO: The market has turned more positive in the last three months, with strong demand for crops and improving farmer margins. We expect 2025 to be the year of corn due to tight stocks-to-use ratios. The CP industry is recovering, and we have balanced inventories. David Johnson, CFO, added that the outlook for currency is balanced, and the CP industry is expected to see low single-digit negative pricing in 2025, which is an improvement over 2024.

Q: In 4Q, production costs in Crop Protection were lower than expected, while Seed costs were higher. Can you explain these dynamics and their implications for 2025? A: Charles Magro, CEO: We've been optimizing our CP footprint, leading to productivity gains, and we're ahead of plan. In Seed, we had high-cost inventory in Latin America due to 2023 issues, which we cleared for 2025. Robert King, EVP of Crop Protection, noted that cost reductions and raw material deflation are on track, while Judd O'Connor, EVP of Seed, mentioned competitive pricing in Latin America but a positive outlook for 2025.

Q: Can you discuss the cadence of earnings growth across the year? A: David Johnson, CFO: We expect slight growth in the first half of 2025 compared to 2024, with a better year-over-year comparison in the second half. This is due to improvements in Brazil's Seed cost position and CP pricing trends, which are expected to stabilize in the second half.

Q: Your Crop Protection EBITDA margins increased significantly. What were the key drivers? A: Robert King, EVP of Crop Protection: The strong Q4 performance was driven by new products, biologicals, and spinosyns, particularly in Brazil. Fungicides and insecticides also contributed to margin growth. Cost reductions of $170 million year-over-year further supported the margin increase.

Q: Regarding 2025 guidance, why was the top end cut by $200 million instead of $100 million? A: David Johnson, CFO: We narrowed our guidance range for 2025, with the midpoint reduced by $100 million due to FX impacts. The top end was cut by $200 million to reflect a more balanced outlook, considering potential currency fluctuations and CP market dynamics. Charles Magro, CEO, added that a flattish CP market was a consideration, and currency impacts were significant.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.