Syngenta Group, the Chinese-owned seed and pesticide giant that’s planning a potential Hong Kong listing, increased profits as it focused on higher-margin businesses.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose 13 percent to $4.4 billion last year, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Sales fell 1 percent to $28.4 billion, after it exited lower-margin grain trading.

The higher profit comes as Syngenta prepares for a second attempt at an initial public offering after being acquired by China National Chemical Corp in 2017. Earnings could be further bolstered after Asian pesticide prices rose more than 10 percent since the start of the Iran war. The company’s crop protection unit accounts for almost half its sales.

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An IPO could value Syngenta, which also produces fertilizers and specialized crops, at $42 billion to $56 billion, Bloomberg Intelligence estimated before the earnings report.

The firm’s chief financial officer Hengde Qin will transition into the role of chief operating officer, after Nelson Jiang was appointed as its new CFO, Syngenta said in the statement.