April 29 (Reuters) - Bunge raised its full-year adjusted profit forecast on Wednesday, citing a strong oilseed processing outlook and the removal of uncertainty that had weighed on results in recent quarters following the U.S. biofuel mandate announcement.
Bunge said, taking into account first-quarter results, the current margin and macro environment, it now expects full-year 2026 adjusted earnings per share in the range of $9.00 to $9.50, which is up from the previous range of $7.50 to $8.00.
U.S.
grain prices have surged since the Iran war began, triggering a flurry of corn and soybean sales by farmers who squirreled away last year's harvests due to weak prices.
Since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, farmers across the Midwest have capitalized on climbing prices by selling corn, soy and wheat from storage bins to ethanol producers and major traders, including Archer-Daniels-Midland and Bunge.
Oil prices also spiked due to the war, which in turn raised prices for crops used to make biofuels. Moreover, the conflict disrupted key fertilizer shipments, which contributed to the rise in corn prices.
"Looking ahead, visibility remains limited given ongoing macroeconomic conditions", said CEO Greg Heckman.
The company also benefited from higher biofuel blending mandates released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month after a lengthy delay.
Net sales from its soybean processing and refining were up 43.4% at $9.55 billion in the quarter from the previous year.
Softseed processing and refining segment reported quarterly net sales of $3.9 billion, compared with $1.52 billion a year ago.
The Missouri-based company posted an adjusted profit of $1.83 per share for the three months ended March 31, beating analysts' average estimate of 87 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Katha Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
