WESTCHESTER, Ill., May 9 (Bernama-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 2024. The results, reported in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for the first quarter of 2024 and 2023, include items that are excluded from the non-GAAP financial measures that the Company presents.

“Against a strong comparison with last year's record first quarter performance, this quarter’s results exceeded expectations. As anticipated, our net sales volumes in the quarter improved sequentially, despite the impact of extreme cold weather on shipments in the U.S. and taking into account the sale of our South Korea business,” said Jim Zallie, Ingredion’s president and chief executive officer. “Furthermore, we maintained our gross margins above 22% as the strength of our business model effectively managed the impact of variable rate contracts which require the pass through of lower corn costs.”

“Looking forward, our Driving Growth Roadmap continues to guide our long-term value creation. Also, in support of our new Winning Aspiration, the reorganization is enabling clearer focus on the opportunities presented by our global customers to drive growth. We are encouraged by the levels of customer engagement, particularly in our texture solutions business. Additionally, we anticipate deploying cash this year toward organic investments, dividends, and a step-up in share repurchases,” Zallie concluded.

_{As previously disclosed, effective January 1, 2024, Ingredion will report financial and operational results under its new reporting structure. For comparison purposes, results for the first quarter of 2023 throughout this news release are unaudited and have been revised to reflect the new reporting structure in which there are three new reportable segments as described below.
^*Adjusted diluted earnings per share (“adjusted EPS”), adjusted operating income and adjusted effective income tax rate are non-GAAP financial measures. See section II of the Supplemental Financial Information entitled “Non-GAAP Information” following the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this news release for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.}





Other Financial Items

• At March 31, 2024, total debt and cash, including short-term investments, were $1.9 billion and $445 million, respectively, versus $2.2 billion and $409 million, respectively, at December 31, 2023.
• Reported net financing costs for the first quarter were $19 million versus $32 million for the year-ago period.
• Reported and adjusted effective tax rates for the first quarter were 21.0% and 28.4%, respectively, compared to 25.1% and 27.7%, respectively, for the year-ago period. The decrease in the reported effective tax rate was primarily driven by the low effective tax rate on the sale of our South Korea business during the first quarter of 2024.
• Capital expenditures, net were $65 million, down $10 million from the year-ago period.

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Dividends and Share Repurchases

In the first quarter of 2024, the Company paid $51 million in dividends to shareholders and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share that was paid on April 23, 2024. During the quarter, the Company repurchased $1 million of outstanding shares of common stock.

Updated Second Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Outlook

For the second quarter of 2024, the Company expects net sales to be flat to down low single-digits and reported and adjusted operating income to be up low to mid-single-digits.

The Company now expects its full-year 2024 reported EPS to be in the range of $10.35 to $11.00, which includes the impact of the gain on the divestiture of the South Korea business completed on February 1, 2024, and adjusted EPS to be in the range of $9.20 to $9.85.

Excluding the effects of the divestiture of the South Korea business, the Company expects full-year 2024 net sales to be flat to up low single-digits, reflecting the pass-through of lower corn values. Reported and adjusted operating income is expected to be up mid-single-digits.

Corporate costs are still expected to be up mid-single-digits.

For full-year 2024, the Company now expects a reported and adjusted effective tax rate of 24.5% to 25.5%, and 26.5% to 27.5%, respectively.

Cash from operations for full-year 2024 is still expected to be in the range of $750 million to $900 million. Capital expenditures for the full year are still expected to be approximately $340 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

Ingredion will host a conference call on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at 8 a.m. CT/ 9 a.m. ET, hosted by Jim Zallie, president and chief executive officer, and Jim 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. A presentation containing additional financial and operating information will be accessible through the Company’s website at https://ir.ingredionincorporated.com/events-and-presentations and 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 2023 annual net sales of approximately $8 billion, the Company turns grains, fruits, vegetables and other plant-based materials into value-added ingredient solutions for the food, beverage, animal nutrition, 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. Ingredion 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 our expectations for full-year 2024 reported and adjusted earnings per share, net sales, reported and adjusted operating income, corporate costs, reported and adjusted effective tax rate, cash from operations, working capital, and capital expenditures, our expectations for second quarter 2024 net sales and reported and adjusted operating income, and any other statements regarding our prospects and our future operations, financial condition, volumes, cash flows, expenses or other financial items, including management’s plans or strategies and objectives for any of the foregoing and any assumptions, expectations, or beliefs underlying any of 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 therein 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 risks and uncertainties, including geopolitical conflicts and actions arising from them, including the impacts on the availability and prices of raw materials and energy supplies, supply chain interruptions, and volatility in foreign exchange and interest rates; changing consumer consumption preferences that may lessen demand for 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, 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 purchases of our products by major industries which we serve and from which we derive a significant portion of our sales, including, without limitation, the food, animal nutrition, beverage; the risks associated with pandemics; 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; price fluctuations, supply chain disruptions, and shortages affecting inputs to our production processes and delivery channels, including raw materials, energy costs and availability and cost of freight and logistics; 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 as well as with respect to freight and shipping costs and hedging activities; operating difficulties at our manufacturing facilities and liabilities relating to product safety and quality; the effects of climate change and legal, regulatory, and market measures to address climate change; our ability to successfully identify and complete acquisitions, divestitures, or strategic alliances on favorable terms as well as our ability to successfully conduct due diligence, integrate acquired businesses or implement and maintain strategic alliances and achieve anticipated synergies with respect to all of the foregoing; economic, political and other risks inherent in conducting operations in foreign countries and in foreign currencies; the failure to maintain satisfactory labor relations; our ability to attract, develop, motivate, and maintain good relationships with our workforce; the impact on our business of natural disasters, war, threats or acts of terrorism, or the occurrence of other significant events beyond our control; the impact of impairment charges on our goodwill or long-lived assets; changes in government policy, law, or regulation and costs of legal compliance, including compliance with environmental regulation; changes in our tax rates or exposure to additional income tax liability; increases in our borrowing costs that could result from increased interest rates; our ability to raise funds at reasonable rates and other factors affecting our access to sufficient funds for future growth and expansion; interruptions, security incidents, or failures with respect to information technology systems, processes, and sites; 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 maintain effective 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, 2023, and our subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

 
Ingredion Incorporated
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
(Unaudited)
(in millions, except per share amounts)

Above is a reconciliation of the company’s expected full-year 2024 GAAP ETR to its expected full-year 2024 adjusted ETR. The amounts above may not reflect certain future charges, costs and/or gains that are inherently difficult to predict and estimate due to their unknown timing, effect and/or significance. The company generally excludes these adjustments from its adjusted ETR guidance, which makes the company more confident in its ability to forecast adjusted ETR than it is in its ability to forecast GAAP ETR. These amounts include, but are not limited to, adjustments to GAAP ETR for resegmentation costs, net gain on sale of business and certain Mexico tax items.

These adjustments to GAAP ETR for 2024 include the following:

i.  Tax impact from resegmentation costs related to the company’s resegmentation effective January 1, 2024
ii. Tax impact as a result of the sale of the company’s business in South Korea completed February 1, 2024
iii. Tax benefit as a result of the movement of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar and its impact to the remeasurement of the company’s Mexico financial statements during the period

CONTACT:
Investors: Noah Weiss, 773-896-5242
Media: corpcomm@ingredion.com 


SOURCE : Ingredion Incorporated

--BERNAMA