The Chinese-owned company, which plans to list within the next few months, said sales jumped 20 per cent to $7.9 billion in the three months to the end of September, compared to a 24 per cent increase during the second quarter.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 24 per cent to $1 billion. In the second quarter earnings had increased by 39 per cent.

The Basel-based company said it was still seeing strong demand, as farmers – buoyed by high prices for commodities – invested in crop protection products and new seeds.

Some farmers were also stocking up on products, while Syngenta’s modern agricultural platform business in China – where it gives training and advice – had almost doubled in size.

Still, Syngenta noted it was seeing an “increasingly challenging macroeconomic environment” while the continued strengthening of the dollar also weighed.

“Sales growth was attributable to a significant increase in sales across all business units, driven by robust grain prices, attractive farm economics and inventory builds across the value chain.

“Necessary price increases were implemented to help mitigate higher costs,” it added.

Syngenta, which competes with U.S. company Corteva CTVA.N and Germany’s BASF BASFn.DE and Bayer BAYGn.DE, was bought in 2017 for $43 billion by ChemChina, which was folded into Sinochem Holdings Corp 600500.SS last year.

The parent company plans to keep a majority stake after its $10 billion flotation, which is expected to value Syngenta at around $50 billion.

BASF on Wednesday said costs at its European sites must be cut to a “permanently” smaller size because of a triple burden of sluggish growth, high energy costs and over-regulation, with the German industrial giant’s boss throwing his weight behind a planned expansion in China.

The post Syngenta sales growth eases but still quite robust appeared first on Farmtario.

The company’s prospectus to list on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR Market was posted online by the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Friday, confirming details reported this week by Reuters after the application was filed on Wednesday.

“Syngenta Group will expand and renovate its production facility and implement strategic acquisition to meet growing market needs,” the company said in the document.

Syngenta said in the filing that its application to list on the STAR Market had been approved and it would issue up to 2.79 billion shares.

The flotation, set to be the world’s biggest this year, will value the maker of pesticides and seeds based in Basel, Switzerland, at about $60 billion including debt, or $50 billion without, sources have told Reuters (all figures US$).

The filing means the flotation is likely to take place by the end by 2021, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak to media and declined to be identified.

A secondary listing for Syngenta is also being considered that could take place less than a year after its debut, with exchanges in Zurich, London and New York among the options being examined, the people said.

Proceeds will fund acquisitions, including deals already announced to buy Yangnong Agrochemical and Valagro, the filing said.

Cash raised will also be used on other projects such as advanced agricultural technology research, production expansion, and upgrading and maintaining its facilities.

Funds will also be used to expand further its modern agricultural service platform — which trains farmers in China — and to repay long-term debt, it said.

The Swiss seeds and crop protection giant was bought in 2017 for $43 billion by ChemChina, which was folded into Sinochem Holdings Corp. this year.

The acquisition remains China’s biggest takeover of a foreign company and is aimed at using Syngenta’s top-tier chemicals and patent-protected seeds to drastically improve domestic agricultural output.

Since being taken over, Syngenta has been merged with Israeli agrochemical firm Adama and the fertilizer and seed business of Sinochem.

Syngenta, the world’s No. 1 crop protection maker and No. 3 seed supplier, competes with Germany’s BASF, Bayer and U.S. agrochemicals company Corteva in the speeds and sprays market.

The company employs 49,000 people globally and generated sales of $23.1 billion in 2020. Its biggest markets are the U.S. and Brazil, while it is growing rapidly in China.

Syngenta reported first-quarter sales of $7.1 billion, 20 per cent higher year-on-year, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rising 19 per cent to $1.5 billion.

Net profit rose 72 per cent in the first quarter, the prospectus said.

— Reporting for Reuters by John Revill in Zurich, Meg Shen in Hong Kong and Dominque Patton in Beijing.

The post Syngenta’s Shanghai IPO to fund growth, acquisitions appeared first on Farmtario.

Switzerland will two hold referendums on Sept. 23 — one on giving more state support to farmers and another on introducing more sustainable and animal-friendly agricultural practices.

An early poll has shown widespread support for both ideas, but Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann said the “dangerous” proposals could trigger tariff increases and other reprisals from trading partners.

One of the proposals, called the Fair Food initiative, wants all food in Switzerland to come from sustainable sources and make labelling more exact. It wants to improve animal welfare by banning imports of factory-farmed products and ensure food imports meet higher Swiss standards.

Supporters like the Green Party and Social Democrats argue that consumers, animals, the environment and farmers would all benefit.

The other proposal wants to increase state aid to Swiss farmers, whose numbers have halved since 1985 and three farming businesses close every day.

“At first glance these proposals have stirred the sympathy of many citizens,” Schneider-Ammann told a news conference.

“I am convinced that upon closer examination of the proposals citizens will see they will make food more expensive, reduce choice and lead to more cross-border shopping from Switzerland.”

Agriculture’s contribution to the Swiss economy has fallen from two per cent in 1985 to under one per cent.

Supporters of the Food Sovereignty initiative for increased state help for struggling farmers, including farming groups and NGOs, want more price transparency to give farmers more heft when negotiating with retailers and food processors.

They also want to increase the number of people working in agriculture and impose stronger regulations on imports which could be subject to higher tariffs or even bans if they do not meet Swiss standards.

The government said the demands would lead to higher subsidies or fixed prices, a claim campaigners reject.

“We don’t want more money, we just want to improve the negotiating position of farmers,” said campaign spokesman Rudi Berli. “Many are going bankrupt because the prices they get for their products are less than the costs of production.”

Retaliatory measures

The referendums are being held after farming groups and environmentalists gathered more than 100,000 signatures needed to trigger a vote under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy.

Three quarters of people polled back the proposals, according to a survey by GFS Bern, a market research company.

The government says the proposals would lead to large-scale state intervention, while banning imports could prompt other countries to launch retaliatory tariffs and sanctions.

“Increasing the number of people working in agriculture can be done only with additional intervention by the government, and would come with higher costs. The entrepreneurial freedom of farmers would be endangered and their dependence on the state would be enormously increased,” Schneider-Ammann said.

— John Revill is a Reuters correspondent covering Swiss industry and policy from Zurich.

The post Swiss government urges voters to reject more state help for farmers appeared first on Farmtario.