FMC Corporation has reported record fourth quarter 2021 results with revenue of $1.41 billion, an increase of 23 percent versus fourth quarter 2020, driven by strong demand and pricing actions. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, year-over-year sales grew 25 percent organically. On a GAAP basis, the company reported earnings of $1.52 per diluted share in the fourth quarter, compared to $0.38 per diluted share in the fourth quarter 2020. Adjusted earnings were $2.16 per diluted share, an increase of 52 percent versus fourth quarter 2020, and 16 cents above the midpoint of guidance.
"Our financial performance reflects the strength of our synthetic and biological portfolios, a healthy demand environment as well as accelerating price increases. Revenue growth was particularly robust in North America and Latin America," said Mark Douglas, FMC president and chief executive officer. "FMC delivered results above the mid-point of our guidance in spite of elevated input costs, FX headwinds and challenges with raw material availability impacting the company and the broader industry."
For the full year, FMC reported revenue of $5.05 billion, an increase of 9 percent compared to 2020. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, year-over-year sales grew 8 percent organically. On a GAAP basis, the company reported full-year earnings of $734 million, or $5.70 per diluted share, which represent year-over-year increases of 33 percent and 35 percent, respectively. Full-year adjusted earnings were $6.93 per diluted share, an increase of 12 percent compared to the prior year.
On a GAAP basis, cash flow from operations was $899 million, an increase of 22 percent versus 2020. Free cash flow in 2021 was $713 million, an increase of 31 percent versus 2020. This was above the guidance range primarily due to significantly higher-than-expected advance payments in North America and better-than-expected collections in all regions.
The company is forecasting full-year 2022 revenue to be in the range of $5.25 billion to $5.55 billion, an increase of 7 percent at the midpoint versus 2021 driven by volume and price growth in all regions partially offset by currency headwinds. Full-year adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $1.32 billion to $1.48 billion, representing 6 percent year-over-year growth at the midpoint. 2022 adjusted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $6.80 to $8.10, representing a year-over-year increase of 8 percent at the midpoint, excluding any impact from potential 2022 share repurchases and assuming weighted average diluted shares outstanding (WADSO) of approximately 127 million. Full-year free cash flow is expected to be $515 million to $735 million.
"Looking ahead to 2022, we anticipate strong commodity prices will continue to drive demand for our differentiated product portfolio. We expect raw material, logistics and packaging input costs to remain at elevated levels and potentially inflate further. FX volatility is a growing challenge in some of the countries where we operate. FMC will continue to strive to mitigate these headwinds through volume growth, strong pricing actions and proactive cost discipline," said Douglas.
