Crop protection products manufacturer Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd. (TASE: ADAMA), in which IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) has a 40% stake, today reported its 2014 results. The company's revenue grew from $3.076 billion in 2013 to a record $3.22 billion in 2014, a 4.7% increase. Excluding the effect of the exchange rate, revenue was up 6.1% in comparison with the preceding year.
Revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $674.2 million, up 2.8%, compared with $655.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. Excluding the effect of the exchange rate, revenue grew 6.0% in the fourth quarter, compared with the corresponding quarter in 2013, the same growth rate as for the entire year.
Adjusted operating profit rose 1.2% to $312.8 million, 9.7% of sales, compared with $309.0 million (10.0% of sales) in 2013. Fourth quarter operating profit totaled $10.4 million, 1.5% of sales, compared with $11.1 million, 1.7% of sales, in the corresponding quarter in 2013.
Adama reported that net profit grew from $127.1 million (4.1% of sales) in 2013 to $151.3 million (4.7% of sales) in 2014, a 19.1% increase. Before excluding one-time expenses incurred in the company's preparations for its offering and a one-time provision for early retirement of employees, net profit rose from $127.1 million (4.1% of sales) in 2013 to $146.0 million (4.5% of sales) in 2014, a 14.9% increase.
The company posted a $32.6 million net loss (4.8% of sales) in the fourth quarter of 2014, compared with a $29.1 million net loss (4.4% of sales) in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Company management said, "The company believes that assuming that no significant exceptional one-time events occur, and given the trends in the sector described above, including an expected low level of prices for agricultural merchandise in 2015, compared with other years, and the weakening of other currencies against the dollar, the improvement in the company's results will drop off in 2015, with an expected decline in the first half of the year, due to the high proportion of sales during this period denominated in euros, which weakened against the US dollar, compared with the corresponding period last year."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 22, 2015
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