FMC Stock Plunges as Weak Sales, Destocking Hit EarningsKey Price Levels to Watch [Video]

Shares in FMC Corp. (FMC) tumbled more than 14% ahead of Tuesday’s opening bell after the agriculture chemical manufacturer issued weak first-quarter earnings guidance as the company continues to grapple with low sales volumes and destocking challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The maker of insecticides and harvest aids said it expects current quarter adjusted earnings to range between 21 and 43 cents per share, less than half the $1-a-share figure analysts had forecast. For the three month period ending December 31, the company posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.07, compared with $2.37 a year earlier, while revenue of $1.15 billion declined 29% from the prior year’s corresponding quarter.

FMC said that destocking presented ongoing challenges in all of its geographic regions. During the pandemic, supply chain bottlenecks led many distributors to stockpile crop chemicals, resulting in excess inventory levels that customersare still working through. The chemical maker also said …