FILE PHOTO: Bunge Ltd logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, April 10, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

By Pooja Menon and Pranav Mathur

(Reuters) -U.S. grain trader and processor Bunge on Wednesday lowered its 2025 earnings forecast following its merger with Viterra, and said it is overhauling segment and volume reporting to align with its integrated operations.

Shares of the company, however, rose 4.7% in premarket trading. UBS analyst Manav Gupta said that investors had feared a worse outlook.

"Dilution is coming in much better than expected. This lifts the overhang on the stock and we expect a big relief rally in this name," Gupta said in a note.

In July, Bunge completed its merger with Glencore-backed Viterra, two years after announcing the $34 billion mega-deal.

The merger with the Netherlands-based Viterra creates a global crop trading and processing giant that is poised to rival agribusiness giants Archer-Daniels-Midland and Cargill.

"We believe based on updated provided today, that Viterra might not cause any dilution in 2026, setting up for a potentially big beat and raise for 2026," Gupta added.

Meanwhile, slumping grain prices, weak crop-processing margins and geopolitical tensions have eroded profitability in the sector.

From the third quarter, its results will include separate segments for soybean, softseed, other oilseeds, as well as another division for grain merchandising and milling.

The company now expects 2025 adjusted earnings per share between $7.30 and $7.60, compared with $7.75 per share forecast earlier. Analysts estimate the company's full-year adjusted profit per share at $7.47, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Bunge is scheduled to release its third-quarter results on November 5. Analysts on average were expecting the company to report a quarterly adjusted profit of $1.33 per share.

(Reporting by Pooja Menon and Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Leroy Leo)