WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.,
Jan. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/
-- Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), a leader in agriculture, food and
ingredients, today announced that Board member Gregory A. Heckman, a seasoned agribusiness
executive, has been appointed Acting Chief Executive Officer,
effective immediately. He replaces Soren
Schroder, who previously announced his intention to step
down.
The Company also provided an update on its full-year 2018
financial results. On a preliminary basis, Bunge now expects
full-year 2018 total segment adjusted EBIT to be below the
previously disclosed $1.045 billion
low end of the outlook range. Net debt at year end 2018 was
approximately $5 billion, reduced
from approximately $7 billion at the
end of the third quarter 2018.
For the full year 2018, Bunge estimates an adjusted EBIT
shortfall of approximately $90-$100 million in
the Agribusiness segment and a shortfall of approximately
$60-$70
million in the Sugar and Bioenergy segment, compared to the
low end of the previously disclosed ranges.
The Agribusiness shortfall was largely due to the reduction in
value of the Company's Brazilian soybean ownership as factors
related to China trade and demand
caused Brazilian prices to converge with U.S. prices. The Sugar and
Bioenergy shortfall was primarily due to lower Brazilian ethanol
prices, and a weather-related reduction in yields as a poor crop
year came to a close.
Commenting on Mr. Heckman's appointment, Bunge's Non-Executive
Board Chair, Kathleen Hyle said,
"Greg has been a valuable addition to our Board and Strategic
Review Committee and we are pleased to appoint him as our Acting
CEO. Our Committee has benefited from his counsel and expertise.
With Greg in this role, we have a greater opportunity to leverage
his perspective, deep industry knowledge and leadership experience,
as we take action to improve our results and sharpen our
operational focus and execution."
Mr. Heckman, 56, joined the Bunge Board in 2018. He has over 30
years of experience in the agriculture, energy and food processing
industries, having served as CEO of The Gavilon Group and in senior
executive roles at ConAgra Foods.
"I look forward to further collaboration with Kathi, the Board
and our management team, focusing on ways to improve performance
and create shareholder value," Mr. Heckman said. "Bunge is a great
company, and our strong foundation and global leadership scale in
Agribusiness and Food & Ingredients positions us well for
future growth. As a team, we will build on the forward momentum of
our Strategic Review, which is focused on our portfolio, key
business drivers and opportunities to enhance shareholder
value."
Bunge's CEO search committee continues its work and will seek to
conclude the search as soon as practicable, while ensuring that the
process is thorough and deliberate.
Additionally, as part of Bunge's ongoing Board refreshment
process, the Company announced that L. Patrick Lupo, Ernest
Bachrach and Enrique Boilini,
three of its longest-serving Board members, will not stand for
re-election at the Company's 2019 Annual General Meeting of
Shareholders. Each will remain on the Board until his current term
expires, in May 2019.
"On behalf of the Board and the Company, I want to thank Soren
for his leadership of Bunge during this period, and to thank Pat,
Ernest and Enrique for their many years of dedicated service as
directors," added Ms. Hyle.
This release includes information about Bunge's preliminary 2018
results. Actual results could differ materially from the
preliminary results included in this release. Bunge will report
fourth quarter and full-year 2018 results before market open on
Thursday, February 21, 2019.
Conference call details will be provided at a later date. Bunge's
Annual Report on Form 10-K will include Bunge's audited financial
statements.
About Gregory A. Heckman
Mr. Heckman is founding partner of Flatwater Partners, a private
investment firm. Previously, Mr. Heckman was CEO of The Gavilon
Group, LLC, prior to the sale of its agriculture business to
Marubeni Corp. and its energy business to NGL Energy Partners. He
led the formation of Gavilon, the successor to ConAgra Trade Group,
and oversaw the spinoff of ConAgra Trade Group from ConAgra Foods
after a 24-year career at ConAgra Foods. Mr. Heckman holds a
Bachelor of Science in agriculture economics and marketing from the
University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
About Bunge Limited
Bunge Limited (www.bunge.com, NYSE: BG) is a leading global
agribusiness and food company operating in over 40 countries with
approximately 32,000 employees. Bunge buys, sells, stores and
transports oilseeds and grains to serve customers worldwide;
processes oilseeds to make protein meal for animal feed and edible
oil products for commercial customers and consumers; produces sugar
and ethanol from sugarcane; mills wheat, corn and rice to make
ingredients used by food companies; and sells fertilizer in South
America. Founded in 1818, the company is headquartered in
White Plains, New York.
Website Information
We routinely post important information for investors on our
website, www.bunge.com, in the "Investors" section. We may use this
website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information
and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation
FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor the Investors section of
our website, in addition to following our press
releases, SEC filings, public conference calls,
presentations and webcasts. The information contained on, or that
may be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by
reference into, and is not a part of, this document.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement its reporting of financial measures determined in
accordance with GAAP, Bunge utilizes certain non-GAAP financial
measures in this press release, including estimated total adjusted
EBIT for 2018 and estimated adjusted EBIT for the Agribusiness and
Sugar and Bioenergy segments. These measures are not
calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP, and should be
considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, or superior
to, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Management believes this information is useful to investors as a
measure of the performance of the company and its segments.
This information is provided only on a non-GAAP basis without a
reconciliation to net income, the mostly directly comparable GAAP
measure, due to the inability at this time to quantify certain
amounts that are necessary for such reconciliation, including tax,
foreign exchange and depreciation and amortization expense, as well
as the allocation of certain key items that would impact the
performance of the Agribusiness and Sugar and Bioenergy
segments. The Company is unable at this time to quantify the
probable significance of the unavailable information, which could
have a significant impact on the Company's full-year consolidated
2018 GAAP financial results.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains both historical and forward-looking
statements. All statements, other than statements of historical
fact are, or may be deemed to be, 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, including, without limitation, statements about our
expected 2018 financial results, outlook for 2019, expected
executive management changes and the Board's strategic review of
our business operations. These forward-looking statements are not
based on historical facts, but rather reflect our current
expectations and projections about our future results, performance,
prospects and opportunities. We have tried to identify these
forward-looking statements by using words including "may," "will,"
"should," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "plan,"
"intend," "estimate," "continue" and similar expressions. These
forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks,
uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual
results, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ
materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these
forward-looking statements. The following important factors, among
others, could cause actual results to differ from these
forward-looking statements: the completion of our audit
procedures for the 2018 fiscal year, the outcome and effects of the
Board's strategic review, our ability to attract and retain
executive management and key personnel, industry conditions,
including fluctuations in supply, demand and prices for
agricultural commodities and other raw materials and products used
in our business; fluctuations in energy and freight costs and
competitive developments in our industries; the effects of weather
conditions and the outbreak of crop and animal disease on our
business; global and regional agricultural, economic, financial and
commodities market, political, social and health conditions; the
outcome of pending regulatory and legal proceedings; our ability to
complete, integrate and benefit from acquisitions, dispositions,
joint ventures and strategic alliances; our ability to achieve the
efficiencies, savings and other benefits anticipated from our cost
reduction, margin improvement and other business optimization
initiatives; changes in government policies, laws and regulations
affecting our business, including agricultural and trade policies,
tax regulations and biofuels legislation; and other factors
affecting our business generally. The forward-looking statements
included in this release are made only as of the date of this
release, and except as otherwise required by federal securities
law, we do not have any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances.
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SOURCE Bunge Limited