Nufarm 警告称，由于澳大利亚炎热干燥的天气，其全年业绩将低于预期，该公司是澳大利亚最大的作物保护产品供应商。
巴斯夫也将于 2014 年 3 月终止与该公司的分销协议。
The Melbourne, Australia-based crop protection company relies on conditions that trigger weed, pest and disease pressure in the summer cropping regions of Northern New South Wales and Queensland – the regions hit by unusually hot, dry conditions in the key August to January period.
“[Weather] has impacted a number of market segments, including relatively high-value segments such as cotton, horticulture and other summer crops,” the company said. It cautioned that its Australia/New Zealand business is expected to be “well down” in the first half of the year and the full year compared with 2012.
然而，其在澳大利亚以外的业务表现强于预期，尤其是在南美和欧洲。它重申了此前对今年上半年息税前利润的预期，比 2012 年同期至少高出 15%。
巴斯夫分销交易结束
巴斯夫表示，自 2014 年 3 月 1 日起，将直接向澳大利亚市场分销其作物保护产品。巴斯夫产品组合自 2004 年以来一直由 Nufarm 和 Crop Care 在澳大利亚分销。
“Our distribution relationship with Nufarm and Crop Care has been successful for ten years. But to invest further in our portfolio of innovations for sustainable agriculture in Australia, we have taken the strategic decision to re-enter the market in our own right”, said Raman Ramachandran, Senior Vice President, BASF Crop Protection Asia Pacific. “We are excited about this opportunity and look forward to building a strong presence in the Australian market with an expanded product offering.”
When the deal ends, Nufarm will supply the “active ingredients that cover a majority of the uses currently targeted by BASF products,” it said, adding, “Nufarm will be a strong competitor across those chemistries and will use its significant product development, manufacturing and logistics presence in Australia to continue to service distribution customers with a wide range of existing and new products.”
据Nufarm称，Nufarm分销的巴斯夫产品占其在澳大利亚总收入的不到10%，占全球收入的不到3%。