Mark A. Douglas
President and Chief Executive Officer at FMC
Thank you, Curt. Good morning, everyone. Our Q1 results are detailed on Slides three, four and five. We delivered a solid first quarter with EBITDA at the higher end of our guidance range and excellent improvement in cash generation. First quarter revenue declined 32% versus the prior year period. Volume declined by 27%, in line with the magnitude we've observed in the prior three quarters. The volume reduction was driven by continued channel destocking and is consistent with the change in grower behavior to delay purchases until closer to the timing of application. Market conditions were largely as we anticipated. And if not for some negotiated returns in Argentina, first quarter sales would have been in the lower end of our guidance range.
We delivered EBITDA in the high end of our guidance range and earnings per share above the midpoint of guidance. In addition, we reported a very significant improvement in free cash flow versus the prior year period. Our earnings benefited from restructuring actions, and we still expect to deliver the targeted savings net of inflation of $50 million to $75 million this year. Slide four provides detail on our sales at a regional level. North America sales declined 48% due to lower volume against a record prior year period. Price was essentially flat. New products introduced in the last five years, or NPI, showed greater resilience versus the rest of the region's portfolio with strong growth in fungicides, including Xyway, which is based on flutriafol; and Adastrio, which is based on our newly launched active ingredient, fluindapyr.
Turning to Latin America. Sales were down 20%, a decline of 22%, excluding FX. Volume was lower in most countries and included negotiated returns in Argentina, resulting from a change in the distribution relationship. Lat Am reported the least volume decline of our four regions. Our differentiated products in the portfolio performed well. Branded diamides grew double digits aided by the recently launched Premio Star insecticide and continued growth of our Cyazypyr brands. New products reported strong growth, including sales of Onsuva fungicide, which is based on fluindapyr. Sales in Asia declined 29%, 28% lower excluding FX. Reduced volume was the primary driver with the most significant downturn in China driven by poor weather.
India channel destocking continues, although dry weather limited the applications. Pricing pressure was in the high single digits. NPI sales were essentially flat to prior year and outperformed the rest of the portfolio, including sales in Australia of Overwatch herbicide based on Isoflex. EMEA sales were 20% lower than the prior year period, a decline of 17%, excluding FX, driven primarily by volume, including headwinds from registration removals and rationalization of lower-margin products and poor weather in the U.K. and Northern Europe. We did grow volume in other parts of Europe, most notably France, Poland, Italy and Spain.
A moderate FX headwind was partially offset by low single-digit price increases. Adjusted EBITDA declined by 56%, primarily due to volume and to a lesser degree, price. Costs were favorable with significant contributions from our restructuring actions and lower input costs more than offset other COGS headwinds. Slide six includes further detail on our restructuring actions. We're making strong progress, and we'll continue to transform our operating model, including how we are organized, where we operate and the way we work. We've moved quickly to rightsize our organization and remain diligent in our cost and reducing indirect spend. These changes have been made without sacrificing strategic investment in areas such as plant health and our R&D pipeline.
Restructuring provided significant year-on-year savings in the first quarter. As the year progresses, our prior year comparisons will include cost actions taken in 2023 to limit spending. This resulted in an outsized cost saving versus Q1 in the prior year compared to what we expect will be reflected in Q2 through Q4. We are tracking to deliver cost savings within our $50 million to $75 million range in 2024, net of any inflation impacts to our operating costs. We continue to anticipate $150 million of run rate savings to be realized by the end of 2025. The sale of our Global Specialty Solutions business is progressing well.
We're now in the second round of a robust bid process. There has been significant interest from a mix of both strategic buyers and financial sponsors. We expect the sale of this business to be completed towards the end of the year. Slides seven and eight cover FMC's Q2 and full year earnings outlook. Our full year outlook remains unchanged. The fundamentals of our business are strong. Grower incomes have come down from peak levels, but remained positive in most countries. Generally speaking, weather has been favorable in many countries, which has led to steady application of product on the ground. Overall, we see a healthy ag industry.
Data from third parties as well as input from our commercial teams shows that the inventory reduction actions in the channel are making good progress. On a regional basis, the pace of destocking is varied. We see North America furthest along with inventories at the retail and grower level back to normal, while distributors are still working to reduce their level of inventory. EMEA is in a similar condition, except in countries hit by unfavorable weather. In both these geographies, our customers are now targeting to operate with inventories at lower-than-normal levels.
In Latin America, inventories are materially lower and are expected to trend towards more normal levels as we move through the rest of the year. We expect India destocking to persist well into 2025, but parts of Asia, such as ASEAN and Pakistan, have made strong progress in destocking in Q1. While these activities continue to run their costs, we're encouraged by the first signs that customers are starting to return to historical order patterns. In North America, we continue to receive orders for products that will be used early in the current season, which indicates that the inventories of such products have now been depleted. In Brazil, customers are now discussing next season's volumes providing visibility that we did not have last year.
Our full year outlook assumes that the market improves as the year progresses, but the customers will seek to hold lower levels of inventory. We are forecasting our second quarter results to be similar to the prior year. Sales are expected to be between $1 billion and $1.15 billion, which represents a year-on-year growth of 6% at the midpoint, driven by higher volume. This is the first quarter during which we expect to report an improvement in year-over-year volume since the start of global destocking. Price is anticipated to be a headwind in the low to mid-single digits and the FX outlook is neutral.
Our outlook assumes customers continue to reduce and maintain inventory levels in many countries with a significant amount of the volume growth we're forecasting in the quarter coming from new products. These include Coragen eVo insecticide in Argentina and the U.S., Premio Star insecticide in Brazil, Adastrio fungicide in the U.S. and JORDI fungicide in Germany. EBITDA in the second quarter is expected to be between $170 million and $210 million, up 1% versus the prior year at the midpoint. At the EBITDA midpoint, we expect that volume growth and restructuring benefits will be offset by lower price and COGS headwinds.
Adjusted earnings per share is expected to be between $0.43 and $0.72, an increase of 15% at the midpoint, due mainly to lower interest expense and D&A. Slide eight provides our full year financial outlook, which is unchanged from our last update. Sales are expected to be between $4.5 billion and $4.7 billion, an increase of 2.5% at the midpoint. Volume growth is forecasted to benefit from improving market conditions in the second half with a substantial amount of the growth expected to come from new products. We anticipate strong growth in new products between Q2 and Q4 with the major contributions coming from Coragen eVo insecticide in Argentina and the U.S., Premio Star insecticide in Brazil, Isoflex active herbicide in Australia and Argentina and on Onsuva fungicide in Brazil and Argentina.
We're also excited to launch new diamide formulations in Australia, Indonesia and other countries throughout Asia. We expect moderate pricing pressure for the full year with the largest impact in the first half. FX is expected to be a minor headwind. Our EBITDA outlook remains between $900 million and $1.05 billion, which is essentially flat to 2023 at the midpoint. Volume growth and restructuring benefits are forecasted to be offset by lower price and COGS headwinds. Adjusted earnings per share is expected to be $3.23 to $4.41 per share, an increase of 1% at the midpoint from lower interest expense and D&A.
Slide nine illustrates the implied growth in sales and EBITDA in the second half to deliver the midpoint of our full year guidance. Revenue growth of 23% and EBITDA growth of 46% may appear outsized on a percentage basis, but considering the low 2023 comparison, we believe the required growth on an absolute dollar basis is achievable. The implied second half revenue and EBITDA are both in a range that we've delivered in the second half of 2020 and 2021. We expect improving market conditions as we progress throughout the year and transition to more normal conditions in 2025.
Slide 10 outlines the various factors that will impact our results within the EBITDA guidance range. The magnitude and timing of improving market conditions remains the biggest variable. Our expectation is that recovery will vary by region. But broadly speaking, we anticipate meaningful improvement in market conditions in the second half. We expect new products will continue to show greater resilience in sales, which is a trend they've demonstrated for several quarters.
We also anticipate the raw material costs stay flat for the year, and that pricing will be a modest headwind, mainly in the first half as we shift to more favorable comps in the second half. As for what we directly control, we're confident not only in our ability to successfully launch new products but also in delivering the $50 million to $75 million of restructuring benefits in 2024.
With that, I'll turn the call over to Andrew to cover details on cash flow and other items.
