(Dow Jones) -- Monsanto Co. swung to an unexpected adjusted profit in the most recent quarter as revenue grew more than anticipated, and the biotech-seed company reiterated its commitment to its takeover by Bayer AG, though it offered a tepid outlook for the current year.
Shares inched 0.8% higher premarket Wednesday to $102.41.
The results come after the U.S. seed maker last month agreed to sell itself to Bayer in a $57 billion deal creating one of the world's largest agrochemical firms. The agreement capped a months-long courtship by the German pharmaceuticals and chemicals giant, and followed a summer in which Bayer's top brass spent much time trying to persuade skeptical investors that the deal would create value for both sides.
"Despite challenges to our business in fiscal year 2016, we delivered on the drivers that position Monsanto for the return to EPS growth in the year ahead," Monsanto Chief Executive Hugh Grant said Wednesday, adding the company's priorities for the year include "executing on the necessary steps to close the deal with Bayer."
For fiscal 2017, Monsanto projected earnings of $3.83 to $4.35 a share. Adjusted earnings, factoring out restructuring charges, Argentine-related tax matters and proposed Bayer transaction related costs, are estimated at $4.50 to $4.90 a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecast on average earnings of $4.91 a share. The company said increased penetration of soybean technologies and improved soybean costs should help drive gross profit growth in the seeds and genomics segment -- its largest.
"We are entering a new era in agriculture, where growers are demanding new solutions and technologies to be more profitable and more sustainable," said Mr. Grant. "We believe that combining with Bayer secures our shared vision to provide a wide set of solutions to meet these demands and feed a growing world."
In all for the August quarter, Monsanto reported a loss of $191 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with $495 million, or $1.06 a share, a year ago.
Excluding certain items, adjusted per-share earnings swung to a profit of 7 cents from a loss of 19 cents a year earlier. Total sales shot up 8.8% to $2.56 billion. Analysts, on average, projected an adjusted a per-share loss of 3 cents on $2.36 billion in sales.
Revenue from seeds and genomics, Monsanto's biggest business, surged 25% to $1.57 billion. Sales in its agricultural productivity segment, meanwhile, slid 9.7% to $997 million.
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