LUXEMBOURG, March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Adecoagro S.A. (NYSE:AGRO, Bloomberg: AGRO US, Reuters: AGRO.K))), a leading sustainable production company in South America, announced today its results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023. The financial information contained in this press release is based on consolidated financial statements presented in US dollars and prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) except for Non - IFRS measures. Please refer to page 27 for a definition and reconciliation to IFRS of the Non - IFRS measures used in this earnings release.

Main highlights for the period:

All-time records in Gross sales, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Free Cash Flow from Operations (NCFO) and operational metrics, driven by a remarkable performance of the Company throughout the year.
Gross sales were 6.7% higher in 2023 on greater cane productivity, which enabled us to increase our sugar production and execute sales at solid prices; coupled with an increase in average selling prices in the Rice and Dairy segments.
Adjusted EBITDA was $476.6 million, 10.1% above 2022, driven by (i) an outperformance of the Rice and Sugar, Ethanol & Energy segments, together with (ii) a farm sale in Argentina. This, in turn, has fully offset the decline reported in the Crops segment driven by an unprecedented drought and higher costs.
NCFO in 2023 stood at $175.9 million, 24.5% higher year-over-year, resulting in a minimum distribution of $70.3 million to be paid in 2024 via dividend and share repurchase. Net debt came down by 25.9% to $502.5 million on (i) greater cash generation and (ii) lower debt levels thanks to the Company's financial strategy. Net debt/Adjusted EBITDA stood at 1.1x.

Full year results overview:

2023 started as a challenging year as our operations in Argentina and Uruguay suffered the effects of extreme dry weather. Despite this, we delivered strong results quarter after quarter, showing the company's resilience. This was achieved thanks to our geographic and product diversification, our flexibility to shift across markets and products, our focus on being low-cost producers, and our ability to adapt our financial strategy to profit from opportunities in the Argentine market.
Along with the investments carried out throughout the past years across all our operations, this culminated in all-time records for the Company's main financial metrics, as well as in better operational indicators (excluding Crops). At a consolidated level, Adjusted EBITDA amounted to $476.6 million, marking a 10.1% year-over-year increase, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow from Operations (NCFO) reached $175.9 million, 24.5% higher than in 2022. Cash generated was distributed to shareholders, invested in growth projects and used to deleverage - a 25.9% year-over-year reduction in our net debt position to $502.5 million, reaching 1.1x Net Debt/EBITDA.

Remarks

2023 Shareholder Distribution

During 2023, we distributed a total of $61.2 million, or 43% of the NCFO generated in 2022, representing a distribution yield of 5.9%. This was executed via the repurchase of 2.7 million shares at an average price of $9.54 per share (2.5% of the company's equity), totaling $26.2 million. In addition, we distributed cash dividends in the amount of $35.0 million, paid in two installments of $17.5 million each in May and November 2023, representing approximately $0.33 per share.

2024 Announced Shareholder Distribution

In 2023, we generated $175.9 million of NCFO, which implies a minimum distribution of $70.3 million to be distributed via a combination of cash dividend and share buyback throughout 2024. Cash dividends will amount to $35.0 million to be paid in two installments of $17.5 million each, in or about May and November 2024. Such dividend distribution is subject to the approval of the annual shareholder meeting to be held next April 17th. The balance will be distributed via buybacks and/or dividends as the case may be.
During the first two months of the year, we repurchased 1.8 million shares (1.7% of the company's equity) under our existing share buyback program at an average price of $10.19 per share, totaling $18.1 million.

Commitment to reduce 20% our carbon footprint by 2030

We are proud to announce our 2030 commitment to reduce carbon intensity by 20% relative to 2021 (base year: 0.31 intensity). This target considers all our Scope 1 and Scope 2 net emissions and the total production volume of our business.

Non-Gaap Financial Measures: For a full reconciliation of non-gaap financial measures please refer to page 27 of our 4Q23 Earnings Release found on Adecoagro's website (ir.adecoagro.com)

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about us and our industry. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "forecast", "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is/are likely to," "may," "plan," "should," "would," or other similar expressions.

These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that our expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, our expectations may turn out to be incorrect. Our actual results could be materially different from our expectations. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the estimates and forward-looking statements discussed in this press release might not occur, and our future results and our performance may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements due to, inclusive, but not limited to, the factors mentioned above. Because of these uncertainties, you should not make any investment decision based on these estimates and forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this press release. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

To read the full 4Q23 earnings release, please access ir.adecoagro.com. A conference call to discuss 4Q23 results will be held on March 15, 2024, with a live webcast through the internet:

Conference Call

March 15, 2024

10 a.m. US EST

11 a.m. Buenos Aires

11 a.m. Sao Paulo

3 p.m. Luxembourg

To participate, please register at the link

Investor Relations Department

Emilio Gnecco

CFO

Victoria Cabello

IRO

Email: ir@adecoagro.com

About Adecoagro:

Adecoagro is a leading sustainable production company in South America. Adecoagro owns 213.5 thousand hectares of farmland and several industrial facilities spread across the most productive regions of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, where it produces over 2.8 million tons of agricultural products and over 1 million MWh of renewable electricity.

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SOURCE Adecoagro S.A.

Beating all-time records; Adjusted EBITDA was $476.6 million in 2023, 10.1% higher YoY, while NCFO increased 24.5% YoY to $175.9 million.