Corteva beats first-quarter profit estimates on higher seed pricing

May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. agrichemicals firm Corteva CTVA.N beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by higher prices for its seeds.

The results come as the agrichemical industry braces itself against a potential fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy.

Corteva said it continues to expect current-year net sales of $17.2 billion to $17.6 billion, but added the outlook did not reflect the impact of tariffs.

"We are not expecting a material net impact on our full-year 2025 results given policies in place today. Global grain and oilseed demand is not expected to decline, regardless of any changes in trade flows," it added.

In the seed segment, Corteva said prices rose 3% in most regions, led by North America. The segment reported a core profit of $842 million in the quarter, up 13% from last year.

Shares of the company were up 1% in volatile extended trading.

However, Corteva's better-than-expected profit was overshadowed by lower sales across segments and geographies. Total sales fell 2% to $4.42 billion during the first quarter due to weakness in key markets such as Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Analysts were expecting net sales of $4.54 billion in the quarter ended March 31, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Both seed and crop protection segments reported a 2% fall in first-quarter net sales, primarily due to unfavorable currency impacts.

The Indianapolis-based company posted an adjusted operating profit of $1.13 per share for the three months ended March 31, compared with the analysts' estimate of 88 cents per share.