Bunge's stock set to rally after adjusted profit rises well above expectations

Shares of Bunge Ltd. were indicated up nearly 4% premarket trading Wednesday, after the oil and products sourcing and processing company reported a fourth-quarter adjusted profit that was well above expectations, although sales fell short. The net loss narrowed to $68 million, or 48 cents a share, from $74 million, or 52 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, such as charges for impairment and the of the Brazilian sugar business, adjusted earnings per share rose to $1.27 from 8 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 28 cents. Sales fell 6.6% to $10.78 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $11.51 billion. Within Bunge's largest business segments, agribusiness sales fell 8.7% to $7.41 billion and edible oil products sales rose 2.8% to $2.42 billion. For 2020, Bunge said it expects EPS to be "broadly in line" with 2019, when excluding items such as the gain on its Beyond Meat Inc. investment and a depreciation benefit in the sugar and bioenergy business. The stock has slipped 1.3% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has advanced 8.6%.

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