Bunge raises outlook on strong Q2

ST. LOUIS — Momentum that began in the first quarter continued into the second quarter, as Bunge Global SA turned in strong financial results, buoyed by its soybean and softseed processing and refining segments and supported by solid execution and improving market conditions.

For the quarter ended June 30, net income surged 91% to $678 million, equal to $3.47 per share on the common stock, up from $354 million, or $2.61 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted total EBIT increased to $665 million from $293 million in the prior-year period. Overall net sales came in at $24.04 billion, up 88% from $12.77 billion, in the fiscal 2025 quarter.

The stronger earnings and improved outlook led Bunge to raise its forecast for adjusted EPS for fiscal 2026 to $9.25 to $9.75, up from its previous range of $9 to $9.50.

“Across the organization, our people are working together to navigate uncertainty and capture opportunities for our customers and for Bunge, and we delivered another strong quarter,” Gregory Heckman, chief executive officer, said during a July 29 conference call with analysts. “We’ve talked about the diversification that our larger global platform provides us across crops and geographies. We saw the benefit of that diversification this quarter, particularly in soy and softseed processing.”

In Bunge’s Soybean Processing and Refining unit, second-quarter adjusted segment EBIT totaled $445 million, up 46% from $304 million a year ago. Net sales rose 56% to $12.07 billion from $7.75 billion as volumes of soybeans processed increased 24% to 11,524,000 tonnes from 9,304,000 tonnes.

John Neppl, chief financial officer, said during the call that stronger results in the Soybean Processing and Refining unit primarily were driven by the North and South American value chains. In North America, stronger processing performance in the United States was partially offset by lower refining results, he said. Meanwhile, in South America, high results reflected improvements in Argentina processing refining and processing in Brazil.

In Bunge’s Softseed Processing and Refining unit, second-quarter adjusted segment EBIT totaled $255 million, up sharply from $14 million a year ago. Net sales increased 167% to $4.1 billion from $1.53 billion as volumes of softseeds processed increased 79% to 3,490,000 tonnes from 1,947,000 tonnes.

For the second quarter in a row, Neppl said results in the Softseed Processing and Refining unit were higher across all regions.

“In North America and Argentina, stronger processing results were the primary drivers of improved performance while refining results were modestly higher in both regions,” he said. “In Europe, stronger processing results more than offset lower refining and biodiesel performance. Results from global softseed oils merchandising activities were slightly higher than last year. Higher softseed processing volumes primarily reflected the combined company’s increased production capacity in Argentina, Canada and Europe. And higher merchandise volumes were driven by the company’s expanded global softseed origination footprint.”

Heckman credited the addition of Viterra for giving Bunge more balance globally in its softseed footprint.

Adjusted segment EBIT for Tropical Oils and Specialty Ingredients was $29 million in the quarter, up 12% year over year from $26 million. The division’s net sales totaled $1.26 billion, up 9% from $1.15 billion. Volumes moved up to 660,000 tonnes from 624,000 tonnes.

The Grain Merchandising and Milling unit saw adjusted segment EBIT increase 131% to $67 million in the second quarter from $29 million a year earlier. Net sales also were stronger, climbing 183% to $6.61 billion from $2.33 billion. Volumes jumped to 23,852,000 tonnes from 8,382,000 tonnes.

Neppl said higher results in ocean freight, commercial services, global cotton and wheat milling were partially offset by lower results in global grain merchandising and sugar. He also noted that results in the second quarter of fiscal 2025 included corn milling, which has since been divested.

Heckman said Bunge is making progress against several key initiatives, including the repurchase of approximately $250 million of shares, completing the $2 billion buyback program related to its acquisition of Viterra. In addition, he said Bunge is in the final stages of bringing two “meaningful” investments online at its facility in Destrehan, La. — a new barge unloader and a new multi-seed processing plant, both of which are expected to be operational in the coming months.