Syngenta boosts operating profit despite lower turnover
Basel-based agribusiness firm Syngenta slightly improved its operating profit in the first half of 2026, despite a slight decline in turnover.
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Syngenta boosts operating profit despite lower turnover
In the months from January to June, the Group’s turnover fell by 2% year-on-year to $12.2 billion (CHF9.83 billion). At constant exchange rates, sales would have fallen by as much as 7%, the crop protection and seed manufacturer announced on Thursday. The decline was primarily due to a reduction in low-margin grain trading in China.
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Consequently, operating profit before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 2% to $2.4 billion. Syngenta emphasised that the focus on higher-value revenues had improved profitability across all business divisions. At group level, the EBITDA margin increased by 0.9 percentage points to 19.5%.
Demand for crop protection products
In the largest business segment, crop protection, revenue rose by 4% to $6.6 billion. In Europe, sales of crop protection products rose by 8%, although heat and drought had recently dampened demand.
Syngenta’s seed sales totalled $2.5 billion in the first half of the year, 1% higher than in the previous year. The main driver of growth was Brazil, with a 18% rise in revenue, while revenue in North America fell by 13%. Syngenta attributes this to the decline in maize acreage in the US.
In its “home market” of China, however, revenue fell by 15% due to the withdrawal from the grain trading business. Syngenta Group China, which is reported as a separate entity, accounts for around a fifth of the group’s revenue at $2.5 billion.
The Syngenta Group, headquartered in Switzerland, is Chinese-owned. It comprises the business units Syngenta Crop Protection, based in Basel; Syngenta Seeds, based in the US; Adama, based in Israel; and Syngenta Group China.
Syngenta AG was acquired by ChemChina in 2017. At the start of August, Hengde Qin became the first Chinese national to take up the position of CEO at the Syngenta Group.
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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
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