Corteva confirmed lowered guidance on sales and earnings but sees brighter days in 2020, according to in a presentation to investors last week.
Shares were up 6.4 percent in Friday trading at the agriscience company based near Wilmington. Share prices also rose slightly on Monday.
“In building Corteva, we have remained consistent in our commitment to drive sustainable shareholder value by focusing on the execution of levers in our control. This includes maximizing the results of our new product pipeline, continuing to execute against our synergy commitments and delivering additional, sustainable productivity improvements – even amidst unprecedented market headwinds,” said Corteva Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Greg Friedman.
He continued, “We are affirming the updated net sales and pro forma operating EBITDA guidance we provided in our second quarter 2019 earnings release. We are also sharing additional context and modeling guidance.”
The company reported progress in reducing operating costs, a major justification for combining the Dow and DuPont agriscience operations to form Corteva.
The presentation also discussed the impact of pension obligations, assumed historical liabilities, and operational seasonality on the company’s cash flows.
Corteva is handling the DuPont pension program following the separation of DowDuPont.
The selection of Corteva has led to nervousness among DuPont pensioners given the volatility of agriculture markets that can be affected by geopolitics and weather. Corteva and DowDuPont officials pointed to the earnings potential of the ag company as a plus.
The related presentation materials can be accessed through the Corteva Investor Relations website.
