Bunge lowers 2020 outlook after first-quarter loss

(Reuters) – Agricultural commodities trader Bunge Ltd on Wednesday lowered its full-year outlook, as its edible oils business takes a demand hit from the coronavirus outbreak and its sugar and bioenergy joint venture suffers a steep crash in Brazilian ethanol prices.

The company swung to a loss in the first quarter amid the pandemic, which has roiled markets and global supply chains, but its results do not yet reflect the more recent oil price crash and its related impact on ethanol pricing.

“We did not experience significant disruptions to our business from COVID-19 in the first quarter, although we did start to see the impact of changing consumer behavior in parts of our edible oils business in March,” CEO Greg Heckman said in a statement.

Rival agribusiness Archer Daniels Midland Co last week highlighted supply-chain disruptions caused by the outbreak after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly results. Privately-held Cargill Inc canceled its most recent earnings release due to the pandemic.

St. Louis, Missouri-headquartered Bunge said adjusted loss attributable in the three months ended March 31, was $181 million, compared with a profit of $59 million a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the company incurred an adjusted loss of $1.34 against a profit of $0.36 a year earlier.

(Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)