Ingredion Incorporated Reports First Quarter 2021 Results

First quarter 2021 reported and adjusted EPS* were $(3.66) and $1.85, respectively, compared to first quarter 2020 reported and adjusted EPS of $1.11 and $1.59, respectively. Double-digit adjusted EPS growth reflects specialties ingredients momentum and strong execution across the Company's regions.Related to the Arcor joint venture announcement, reported results reflect a $360 million held for sale impairment charge, including $311 million of cumulative translation losses.The Company...

Westchester, 04/05/2021 (informazione.news - comunicati stampa - cibi e bevande)

WESTCHESTER, Ill., May 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR), a leading global provider of ingredient solutions to the food and beverage manufacturing industry, today reported results for the first quarter of 2021. The results, reported in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for 2021 and 2020, include items that are excluded from the non-GAAP financial measures that the Company presents.

“We delivered an outstanding first quarter with significant net sales and adjusted operating income growth, our best quarter since 2018. Operating income grew across all four regions, and our results reflect exceptionally strong performance in South America and Asia-Pacific,” said Jim Zallie, Ingredion's president and chief executive officer.

“We continued to execute on our Driving Growth Roadmap, delivering specialty ingredients growth that was underpinned by double-digit growth in Asia-Pacific and South America. As a result of our unwavering determination to expand our consumer preferred specialty offerings, our sugar reduction sales were up over 200 percent versus prior year. Additionally, we recently broadened our Food Systems platform with the acquisition of KaTech, an innovative supplier of customized ingredient blends which enhance texture and provide stabilization. KaTech adds a European hub to complement our existing U.S. and Asia food systems' operations,” continued Zallie.

“We are actively engaged in new product development through our strong customer partnerships with robust project pipelines to meet resurging consumer demand. We remain focused on delivering consumer preferred innovation through customer co-creation. As we re-imagine the future of work for our employees, we are doing so with customer centricity, speed and agility,” Zallie concluded.

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Dividend and Share Repurchases

In March 2021, the Company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.64 per share, totaling $44 million. During the quarter, the Company repurchased $14 million of outstanding shares of common stock.

2021 Second Quarter Outlook and Full-Year Perspective

For the second quarter, the Company expects net sales to increase 20 to 30 percent and operating income growth to be slightly better than net sales growth, when both are compared to the prior year.

In light of anticipated first half performance, the Company expects full-year net sales to be up low double-digits, driven by the pass through of higher corn costs, strong price mix and volume recovery. For the full-year, the Company expects adjusted operating income to be up mid-single-digits, driven by specialty ingredients growth, other volume recovery and Cost Smart savings, partially offset by anticipated higher corn costs in the second half of the year. Due to the continued uncertain environment, the Company is not currently providing guidance for full-year 2021 EPS and cash flow from operations.

Full year corporate costs are expected to be flat. The Company expects the reported effective tax rate of 70 percent to 75 percent and adjusted effective tax rate of 28.0 percent to 29.0 percent. With the expected close of the Arcor joint venture, the Company anticipates the South America segment performance, financing costs, and tax rate reporting will be updated in the second half of the year.

Capital investment commitments are expected to be between $330 million and $350 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

Ingredion will conduct a conference call on Tuesday, May 4, 2021, at 8 a.m. Central Time hosted by Jim Zallie, president and chief executive officer, and James Gray, executive vice president and chief financial officer. The call will be webcast in real time and can be accessed at https://ir.ingredionincorporated.com/events-and-presentations. The call will include a presentation accessible through the Company's website, which will be available to download a few hours prior to the start of the call. A replay will be available for a limited time at https://ir.ingredionincorporated.com/financial-information/quarterly-results.

About the Company

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR) headquartered in the suburbs of Chicago, is a leading global ingredient solutions provider serving customers in more than 120 countries. With 2020 annual net sales of $6 billion, the Company turns grains, fruits, vegetables and other plant-based materials into value-added ingredient solutions for the food, beverage, animal nutrition, brewing and industrial markets. With Ingredion's Idea Labs innovation centers around the world and approximately 12,000 employees, the Company co-creates with customers and fulfills its purpose of bringing the potential of people, nature and technology together to make life better. Visit ingredion.com for more information and the latest Company news.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains or may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company intends these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for such statements.

Forward-looking statements include, among others, any statements regarding the Company's future prospects or financial condition, net sales, operating income, volumes, corporate costs, tax rates, capital expenditures, expenses or other financial items, any statements concerning the Company's prospects or future operations, including management's plans or strategies and objectives therefor, and any assumptions, expectations or beliefs underlying the foregoing.

These statements can sometimes be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “plan,” “project,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “continue,” “pro forma,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “propels,” “opportunities,” “potential,” “provisional,” or other similar expressions or the negative thereof. All statements other than statements of historical facts in this news release or referred to in or incorporated by reference into this news release are “forward-looking statements.”

These statements are based on current circumstances or expectations, but are subject to certain inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond our control. Although we believe our expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, investors are cautioned that no assurance can be given that our expectations will prove correct.

Actual results and developments may differ materially from the expectations expressed in or implied by these statements, based on various factors, including the impact of COVID-19 on the demand for our products and our financial results; changing consumption preferences relating to high fructose corn syrup and other products we make; the effects of global economic conditions and the general political, economic, business, and market conditions that affect customers and consumers in the various geographic regions and countries in which we buy our raw materials or manufacture or sell our products, including, particularly, economic, currency, and political conditions in South America and economic and political conditions in Europe, and the impact these factors may have on our sales volumes, the pricing of our products and our ability to collect our receivables from customers; future financial performance of major industries which we serve and from which we derive a significant portion of our sales, including, without limitation, the food, beverage, animal nutrition, and brewing industries; the uncertainty of acceptance of products developed through genetic modification and biotechnology; our ability to develop or acquire new products and services at rates or of qualities sufficient to gain market acceptance; increased competitive and/or customer pressure in the corn-refining industry and related industries, including with respect to the markets and prices for our primary products and our co-products, particularly corn oil; the availability of raw materials, including potato starch, tapioca, gum Arabic, and the specific varieties of corn upon which some of our products are based, and our ability to pass along potential increases in the cost of corn or other raw materials to customers; energy costs and availability, including energy issues in Pakistan; our ability to contain costs, achieve budgets, and realize expected synergies, including with respect to our ability to complete planned maintenance and investment projects on time and on budget and realize expected savings under our Cost Smart program as well as with respect to freight and shipping costs; the behavior of financial and capital markets, including with respect to foreign currency fluctuations, fluctuations in interest and exchange rates and market volatility and the associated risks of hedging against such fluctuations; our ability to successfully identify and complete acquisitions or strategic alliances on favorable terms as well as our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses or implement and maintain strategic alliances and achieve anticipated synergies with respect to all of the foregoing; operating difficulties at our manufacturing facilities; the impact of impairment charges on our goodwill or long-lived assets; changes in our tax rates or exposure to additional income tax liability; our ability to maintain satisfactory labor relations; the impact on our business of natural disasters, war, or similar acts of hostility, threats or acts of terrorism, the outbreak or continuation of pandemics such as COVID-19, or the occurrence of other significant events beyond our control; changes in government policy, law, or regulation and costs of legal compliance, including compliance with environmental regulation; potential effects of climate change; security breaches with respect to information technology systems, processes, and sites; our ability to raise funds at reasonable rates and other factors affecting our access to sufficient funds for future growth and expansion; volatility in the stock market and other factors that could adversely affect our stock price; risks affecting the continuation of our dividend policy; and our ability to remediate in a timely manner a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.

Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of the statement as a result of new information or future events or developments. If we do update or correct one or more of these statements, investors and others should not conclude that we will make additional updates or corrections. For a further description of these and other risks, see “Risk Factors” and other information included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in our subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K.

CONTACTS:
Investors:  Tiffany Willis, 708-551-2592
Media:  Becca Hary, 708-551-2602