FMC Corporation 10-K (2022-02-25)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

 

 

 

FMC Corporation was incorporated in 1928 under Delaware law and has its principal executive offices at 2929 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104. Throughout this annual report on Form 10-K, except where otherwise stated or indicated by the context, "FMC", the "Company", "We," "Us," or "Our" means FMC Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries and their predecessors.

 

 

 

Copies of the annual, quarterly and current reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and any amendments to those reports, are available on our website at www.fmc.com as soon as practicable after we furnish such materials to the SEC.

 

 

 

BUSINESS

 

 

General

 

FMC Corporation is a global agricultural sciences company dedicated to helping growers produce food, feed, fiber and fuel for an expanding world population while adapting to a changing environment. FMC’s innovative crop protection solutions – including biologicals, crop nutrition, digital and precision agriculture – enable growers, crop advisers and turf and pest management professionals to address their toughest challenges economically without compromising safety or the environment. FMC is committed to discovering new herbicide, insecticide and fungicide active ingredients, product formulations and pioneering technologies that are consistently better for the planet.

 

turf : short grass and the surface layer of soil that is held together by its roots; a piece of this that has been cut from the ground and is used especially for making lawns (= the area of grass in a garden) / peat that is cut to be used as fuel; a piece of this 

 

herbicide : a chemical that is poisonous to plants, used to kill plants that are growing where they are not wanted

 

insecticide : a chemical used for killing insects

 

fungicide : a substance that kills fungus

 

 

 

FMC Strategy

 

We have streamlined our portfolio over the past ten years to become a tier-one leader and the fifth largest global innovation provider in the agricultural chemicals market. Our strong competitive position is driven by our technology and innovation, as well as our geographic balance and crop diversity, which helped FMC to take market share in 2019, 2020, and 2021. 

 

streamline : to give something a smooth, even shape so that it can move quickly and easily through air or water / to make a system, an organization, etc. work better, especially in a way that saves money 

 

 

 

Our leading fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and biological technologies that farmers throughout the world rely on to protect their crops from disease and pests were produced at five active ingredient plants, 18 formulation and packaging sites and sold in more than 120 countries. Helping farmers grow more food sustainably on less arable land requires a continual stream of new products and technologies.

 

arable : connected with growing crops such as wheat 

 

 

 

We are investing in the agricultural industry’s most productive crop protection pipeline, featuring more than 25 new active ingredients in discovery, 11 new active ingredients in development, and more than 20 molecules featuring new modes of action.

 

molecule : a group of atoms that forms the smallest unit that a substance can be divided into without a change in its chemical nature 

 

 

 

We own and operate a total of 23 manufacturing plants, and we have the scale to operate with strong resources and global reach to address changing market conditions. Our supply chain organization effectively managed to continue supplying our customers and growing our business, despite multiple shutdowns and other disruptions in the Chinese chemical sector in the last several years.

 

 

 

As an agricultural sciences company, we are considered an "essential" industry in the countries in which we operate; we have avoided significant plant closures and all our manufacturing facilities and distribution warehouses remain operational and fully staffed. We will continue to assess the impacts of the pandemic on our business and enact commercial plans, cost savings, and/or liquidity actions as appropriate.

 

 

 

We made significant investments in our employees as a result of the COVID pandemic, including through enhanced dependent care offerings, recognition bonuses, increased flexibility of work schedules and hours of work to accommodate remote working arrangements, and investment in IT infrastructure to promote remote work. Through these efforts we have successfully avoided any COVID related furloughs or workforce reductions to date.

 

furlough : to give somebody permission to leave their duties for a period of time, especially soldiers working in a foreign country / (North American English) to give a prisoner permission to leave a prison for a period of time

 

 

 

Our revenues grew approximately 9 percent, or 8 percent organically(1) excluding the impacts of foreign currency, year over year in 2021, driven by strong volume growth and pricing gains in all regions. Approximately $400 million in sales for 2021 came from products launched in the last five years, representing almost 8 percent of the total revenue. In 2021, we had new product launches in Australia including Vantacor™ insect control based on Rynaxypyr® active and Overwatch® herbicide based on our Isoflex™ active.

 

 

 

We had new product launches in North America for Xyway fungicide and Vantacor™ insect control. Products launched in 2021 accounted for approximately $120 million in sales. Our diamides, Rynaxypyr® and Cyazypyr® active ingredients, continued to be a significant part of our portfolio, representing over $1.9 billion in combined sales and approximately 38 percent of the total revenue in 2021.We also grew our Plant Health program, which includes FMC’s Biologicals platform, by 20 percent. Plant Health is now approximately $220 million in sales and outpacing market growth.

 

 

 

FMC performed better than the overall crop protection market in 2021, which we estimate grew in the mid-single digit percentage range versus 2020. Foreign currency was a minor tailwind to full year revenue. As mentioned above, our growth rate was 9 percent, and excluding the impact of foreign currency, our organic(1) growth rate was 8 percent. FMC’s innovation, starting with our current portfolio of advanced products and continuing through our R&D discovery, development and new formulations, contributed to our performance.

 

 

 

Our technology portfolio includes specific innovations in plant health, application technology and delivery systems, as well as advanced agronomic insights through Arc™ farm intelligence, our precision agriculture tool that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

 

 

 

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