TAFE Urges AGCO to Address Critical Questions Regarding its Strategic Priorities During 2024 Analyst Day

CHENNAI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (together with certain of its affiliates, “TAFE” or “we”) is the largest shareholder of AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) (“AGCO” or the “Company”) with a 16.3% long-term, strategic equity stake in the Company.

Today, TAFE urged management to address the following questions during its upcoming Analyst Day, which is scheduled to be held at 9 A.M. Eastern Standard Time on December 19, 2024. TAFE believes these questions are of critical interest to shareholders and have a direct bearing on the Company’s valuation relative to peers. TAFE’s questions are in the context of AGCO’s lagging performance compared to peers, successive quarters of performance misses and downward revisions in guidance, diminishing competitive position and value erosion through failed acquisitions, as well as investors’ expectations for earnings resilience across cycles.

Key Questions for AGCO Management

1. Given that the agricultural equipment market appears soft heading into 2025, how have AGCO’s assumptions shifted for North America, Europe and South America? What are the risks and opportunities that would impact these regions? Based on these, is there a likelihood of further downside?
   
   
2. If the cyclical downturn is prolonged, what is AGCO’s forecast for its revenue performance under its current Farmer-First strategy, which focuses on multiple high-value brands with relatively low associated volume?
   
   
3. Does management believe that the Company’s response to the industry cycle is differentiated and will help close its margin gap to peers? All industry players, including CNH Industrial NV and Deere & Company, have resorted to much larger cost containment to minimize the impact of the downcycle.
   
   
4. Fendt is an important growth opportunity for AGCO’s North American business. What are management’s assumptions for the expected impact of tariffs on sales, prices and margins for each of AGCO’s brands – especially Fendt?
   
   
5. In the context of the possibility of a tariff regime change in North America and Fendt’s globalization plan, does AGCO foresee an impact on its manufacturing footprint and investment programs in North and South America?
   
   
6. AGCO has emphasized that tools like automation and AI are core to its competitive position in high horsepower. However, the Company has disclosed consistent sales declines across the horsepower categories through the first nine months of 2024 – with faster declines in higher horsepower categories recently.¹ Have AGCO’s premium technology and smart farming solutions had any observable impact on margin volatility across market cycles?
   
   
7. How have Trimble’s revenue and margins performed following the 2023 joint venture and what is the 2025 outlook?
   
   
8. How should shareholders think about the return on investment over the next two to three years, expressed in higher sales and profits, that should result from acquiring, developing and deploying advanced technologies?
   
   
9. Is the Company planning to take steps to launch a portfolio review to assess its risk profile and current approach to capital allocation?
   
   
10. Does the environmental sustainability of AGCO’s products and services create an opportunity to differentiate the Company vis-à-vis peers?

TAFE looks forward to management answering these critical questions, as we are supportive of AGCO taking all steps to enhance the long-term value of its shares.

About TAFE

TAFE - Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, is an Indian tractor major incorporated in 1960 at Chennai, India. One of the largest tractor manufacturers in the world and the second largest in India, TAFE sells over 180,000 tractors annually.

TAFE has earned the trust of customers with its range of high-quality products, low cost of operation and a strong distribution network of over 1600+ dealers. TAFE exports tractors to over 80 countries, powering farms in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Russia.

Besides tractors, TAFE and its subsidiaries have diverse business interests in areas such as farm-machinery, diesel engines and gensets, agro-industrial engines, engineering plastics, gears and transmission components, hydraulic pumps and cylinders, vehicle franchises and plantations.

TAFE is committed to Total Quality Management (TQM). In the recent past, various manufacturing plants of TAFE have garnered numerous ‘TPM Excellence’ awards from the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM), as well as a number of other regional awards for TPM excellence. TAFE's tractor plants are certified under international standards ISO 9001 for efficient quality management systems and under ISO 14001 for environment-friendly operations. In 2013, TAFE was presented the coveted ‘Agriculture Leadership Award' by Agriculture Today Magazine and the ‘Corporate Citizen of the Year Award’ by Public Relations Council of India (PRCI). TAFE was also named the ‘Best Employer in India 2013’ by Aon Hewitt and has the distinction of receiving commendation for ‘Significant Achievement on the Journey Towards Business Excellence’ by the CII-EXIM Bank - Business Excellence Award jury in 2012.

^1 Company Securities and Exchange Commission filings.