Bunge’s tropical oils and specialty ingredients earnings fall amid trade disruption

Bunge’s tropical oils and specialty ingredients business reported a sharp fall in third-quarter earnings as trade disruption and plant start-up costs weighed on margins. Sales and volumes increased, but the unit’s adjusted earnings fell nearly 69%.

Stronger oilseed processing supported the wider group. Bunge’s adjusted total earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose 11.8% to US$846 million for the quarter ended September 30.

Within tropical oils and specialty ingredients, adjusted EBIT dropped to US$16 million from US$51 million a year earlier. Sales increased 7.3% to US$1.30 billion, while volumes rose 5.5% to 674,000 metric tons.

Bunge attributes the decline to margin pressure from geopolitical trade disruption, alongside commissioning, ramp-up, and plant transition costs across its tropical oils and soy protein concentrate businesses. Results were lower in North America, Europe, and Asia.

The company has reduced its full-year expectations for the segment.

Oilseed processing gains

Soybean processing and refining delivered adjusted EBIT of US$565 million, up 18.2% from a year earlier. Softseed processing and refining adjusted EBIT increased 19.6%.

Softseed processing volumes rose 15.2% to 3.61 million metric tons. The business covers crops including canola, rapeseed, and sunflower. Soybean processing volumes fell 3.2% to 11.75 million metric tons.

Soy protein moves into customer qualification

Bunge expects several investments to contribute more to earnings as production builds and initial costs ease.

At its soy protein plant in Morristown, Indiana (US), the focus has shifted from commissioning to securing customer approvals.Oilseed processing helped lift Bunge’s third-quarter earnings.

“Morristown has gotten through commissioning, and they’re now in the customer qualification phase,” CFO John Neppl says on the company’s earnings call.

The facility is producing material, with customer work underway to build business for the plant. Bunge expects it to begin contributing to earnings in 2027, following a limited contribution this year.

The investment builds on Bunge’s expansion in soy protein concentrates. Speaking to Food Ingredients First at IFFA 2025, the company highlighted clean-tasting, light-colored concentrates and pointed to the Indiana facility as a means of strengthening supply and customer partnerships.

More recently, Bunge’s PurePro soy protein concentrate was shortlisted for Fi Europe’s 2026 Innovation Awards. The ingredient targets flavor and color challenges in protein-enriched foods, with applications spanning meat alternatives, bakery, cereals, and snacks.

In Europe, Bunge expects its Westzaan multi-oil refinery in the Netherlands to start up in the first quarter of 2027.

Trade flows and supply flexibility

The company is also seeking further benefits from its combination with Viterra, completed in July 2025.

CEO Greg Heckman says closer coordination across crop origination, processing, logistics, and distribution is helping Bunge redirect supplies and find alternative sources for customers as market conditions change. Management describes the integration work as increasingly focused on commercial opportunities and better use of the combined network.

Bunge maintained its full-year adjusted earnings guidance at US$9.25–9.75 per share. Alongside the lower outlook for tropical oils and specialty ingredients, it now expects soybean processing and refining results to be slightly below its previous forecast.

Expectations for softseed processing and refining are unchanged.