Pre-tax income jumped 279.4% to $47 million, while net income soared 78.6% to $46 million or about $0.019 per diluted share.
“We delivered the strongest fourth-quarter results to date, driving double-digit sales growth over the full year, despite continued subdued agricultural commodity prices and challenging weather conditions in key regions. We continue to strengthen our core business by investing in our pipeline of new and differentiated products, executing on our growth strategy,” weighed in CEO Chen Lichtenstein.
Yang Xingqiang, Chairman of Adama’s Board of Directors, added, “Our robust performance, reaching all-time record highs of nearly $3.9 billion in sales and $653 million in EBITDA, continues to demonstrate our ability to overcome challenging market conditions and grow our market share worldwide. ADAMA’s vast portfolio of differentiated products and global commercial presence enables us to continue our significant growth momentum.”
According to the company, the global crop protection market grew “somewhat” in 2018 due to stronger demand and “normalized inventory levels”, helped by higher procurement costs in China. This was partially offset by challenging weather conditions in Europe, and the uncertainty surrounding US-China trade tensions.