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Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has reported quarterly revenue of $21.85 billion for the period ending 31 March 2024, a 9% decrease from the same quarter last year. Sector-specific outcomes indicated notable declines in the Ag Services & Oilseeds and Nutrition segments, compared to the year-ago quarter. In Ag Services and Oilseeds, adjusted operating profit fell 29% to $864 million from $1.21 billion. Meanwhile, in Nutrition, adjusted operating profit dropped 39% to $84 million from $138 million. Human nutrition fell 45% to $76 million from $138 million. The Ag Services & Oilseeds sector was impacted by steadying trade flows and a reduction in crush margins, while the nutrition segment experienced setbacks due to unplanned downtimes, and a normalising texturants market negatively impacted margins. The company's Carbohydrate Solutions segment adjusted operating profit fell by 11% compared to Q1 2023, from $279 million to $248 million. In the Starches and Sweeteners subsegment, lower domestic ethanol margins offset strong margins. However, the Vantage Corn Processing subsegment saw improved results thanks to a rise in demand for sustainably certified exports of ethanol, which led to an increase in both volumes and margins. ADM's chairman of the board and CEO, Juan Luciano, said: “ADM’s solid first quarter results showcased our team’s ability to execute our strategy with agility in the face of anticipated challenging market conditions". “To manage through the cycle, we are driving key strategic initiatives across the business, including the ramp-up of production at our Green Bison JV and the scaling of our regenerative agriculture and BioSolutions efforts." "Our productivity initiative pipeline is also expanding, and we are already seeing the results of our actions to reduce supply chain complexity and better serve our customers in nutrition as the segment delivered sequential quarterly improvement in operating profit. Our capital deployment actions, such as our accelerated share repurchase programme, also continue to contribute to enhanced shareholder returns. Driving these priorities forward, we remain confident in our guidance for the year.”

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