Syngenta's flagging shares rebounded 3% after the seeds and sprays group forecast a doubling in core sales, compared with current levels, and revealed "resilient" sales in the current quarter.

The world's biggest agrichemicals group forecast sales from key crops – including cereals, corn oilseeds and sugar cane - hitting $17bn "post 2015", up from $8.4bn last year.

The forecast appears to imply significantly faster revenue growth than expected by analysts, who foresee overall group sales rising from $13.0bn this year to $15.6bn in 2015.

Michael Mack, the Syngenta chief executive, forecast that the Swiss-based group would "grow faster than the global market and deliver superior returns to our shareholders".

Company overhaul 

The group's optimism reflected "confidence" in the company's pipeline of products, besides the implementation, announced in February, of merging its seeds and sprays operations into geographically-based divisions, Mr Mack told investors.

"Syngenta is focused upon the discovery and development of integrated solutions which go beyond the single product paradigm," he said.

The operational shake-up is aimed at rebuilding the group in the light of the increasing links between seed and sprays offerings evident, for example, in the crops genetically modified for resistance to glyphosate weedkillers.

Syngenta had "made major progress" in implementing the revamp.

Market reaction 

Mr Mack added that the group had shown "resilience" in sales in the April-to-June quarter, "despite adverse weather conditions" which have hampered sowing and spraying operations.

The comments echo those from Agrium, the Canada-based fertilizer and farm retail group, on Monday, in lifting its second quarter earnings guidance to $4.10-4.40 per share, from $3.38-3.88 per share, noting that "record global crop prices are driving demand for all crop inputs".

Agrium shares gained more than 4% in Toronto on Monday.

Syngenta shares 3.4% higher at SFr278.50 at 11:10 GMT on Tuesday.

The shares, which have suffered downgrades this month from analysts at HSBC, JP Morgan and Nomura, in the last session touched their lowest level since October.