(Reuters) – Agricultural commodities trader Bunge Ltd beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by strong crush margins and high demand for food, feed and biofuels.
The war in Ukraine reduced crop shipments from the grain-rich country fueling prices at a time when demand agricultural commodities has been high.
Bunge and peers Archer-Daniels-Midland Co, Cargill Inc and Louis Dreyfus Co make money by processing, trading and shipping crops around the world, and tend to gain from shortages triggered by droughts or wars.
Bunge said results were strong in all regions in its Refined & Specialty Oils segment with notable strength in North and South America reflecting favorable food and fuel demand trends.
The company reported adjusted net earnings of $3.26 per share, for the three months ended March 31, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $3.24 per share, according to Refinitiv data.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)