In Illinois, Chicago-based Ingredion, a global provider of ingredient and biobased solutions to diversified industries reported first quarter 2018 results which were up compared to first quarter 2017. First quarter 2018 reported and adjusted EPS were $1.90 and $1.94. With annual net sales of nearly $6 billion, the company turns grains, fruits, vegetables and other plant materials into value-added ingredients and biomaterial solutions for the food, beverage, paper and corrugating, brewing and other industries.
“While we’re pleased with how we grew specialties and EPS, North America performance was negatively impacted by a sharp increase in freight costs and fell short of our expectations,” said Ingredion’s president and chief executive officer, Jim Zallie. “As expected, EMEA and South America posted strong operating income growth while Asia-Pacific operating income was lower year-over-year due to extraordinary tapioca cost increases. We expect continued growth in our specialty portfolio aligned with consumer trends and we are making capital investments to support margin expansion. Additionally, we continue to explore potential M&A opportunities to drive specialty growth. We remain committed to our long-term earnings growth algorithm to create additional shareholder value.”