Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has reported a 44% jump in 2022 net profit, joining other global crop merchants with an earnings boost from high prices and strong demand.
LDC, whose rivals include ADM, Bunge and Cargill, reported a group net profit of just over $1 billion versus $697 million a year earlier.
Net sales rose almost 21%% to $59.9 billion from $49.6 billion.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine contributed to surging prices and supply tensions in staple crops.
'The company leveraged its global presence, market intelligence and risk management framework, reinforced since the advent of COVID-19, to capture profitable origination and sales opportunities,' LDC said in a results statement.
Chief executive officer of LDC, Michael Gelchie said, “In the face of strong headwinds, we remained focused on keeping essential food, feed, fibre and ingredient supply chains moving to meet commitments to customers worldwide and secure continued financial and operating performance in 2022, while advancing with our strategic growth plans to balance strength and leadership in our core business with evolution for long-term relevance.”
Bunge and ADM both reported record 2022 earnings and have forecast healthy profits for this year.
Read More: Bunge Profit Beats Expectations On Strong Soy Crush Margins
Annual Results
Improved results and the sale of a stake in 2021 to Abu Dhabi holding firm ADQ have eased financial pressure on LDC and main shareholder Margarita Louis-Dreyfus after several years of modest profits and mounting debt.
Group equity rose to a record $6.1 billion as of 31 December, 2022, the company said.
LDC also announced a 33.6% reduction target for its Scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to a baseline year of 2022.
“Despite new and unprecedented challenges and disruptions, LDC further diversified its geographic and commercial portfolio in an effort to preserve global access to essential products, always with a focus on the safety and wellbeing of its teams around the world as a priority,” said Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, chairperson of the supervisory board.
“In this extremely complex environment, collaboration across value chains is more essential than ever to find shared solutions to common challenges and help provide sustenance for people worldwide.”
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM – your source for the latest supply chain news. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
