* Scientists say chance of a strong El Nino growing

* It would have most impact in Asia-Pacific and Latin

America

* Companies are discussing the consequences, filings,

transcripts show

By Simon Jessop and Praveen Paramasivam

LONDON/CHENNAI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The risk of an

exceptionally strong El Nino and how to adapt has shot up the

agenda in company discussions, according to an analysis of

filings and earnings calls.

Scientists have said a "very strong" El Nino is increasingly

likely and could be the most disruptive such event since 1950.

But they also say the impact is hard to predict as man-made

global warming compounds the effect of El Nino, which is a

natural phenomenon.

For companies, the challenge is to mitigate the impact and

in some cases to benefit from the inflation that can ensue from

crop disruption and changing energy demand.

A review of major corporate filings and conference calls

using market intelligence firm AlphaSense showed 478 companies

mentioned the weather phenomenon in 1,443 documents from May 1

to August 4, with 316 mentions in the calls, the highest since

2019.

Led by companies in sectors including food, chemicals and

banking, most focus on the scope of their exposure and

contingency planning, rather than a clear estimate of what it

means for sales, earnings or cash flow.

The event was mentioned in nearly 900 documents from Indian

companies - heavily reliant on monsoon rainfall - nearly 10

times the mentions by U.S.-based firms, followed by those based

in the Philippines, Malaysia and Brazil.

"Warmer, drier, more erratic conditions are being fuelled by

climate change, so that makes predictions even more difficult

from a scientific perspective and, honestly, from a business

perspective," said Velislava Ivanova, Global Chief

Sustainability Strategist at consultants EY.

"We're seeing a lot more clients being focused on that from

a risk and preparedness perspective," she said, adding the firm

was helping to stress test their supply chains, given the

potential for the impacts to last for many years.

A Dartmouth College study from 2023 said previous major El

Ninos weighed on growth, with losses from the 1982-83 and

1997-98 events at $4.1 trillion and $5.7 trillion, respectively,

over the following five years.

INCREASED CAPITAL EXPENDITURE

For Peruvian miner Compañía de Minas Buenaventura

, Juan Carlos Ortiz, Vice President of Operations,

told a July 31 earnings call that the company had added $12

million to its capital expenditure plan to cover El Nino-related

risks.

Each mine's safety committee had mapped the risks of

flooding and would spend its share of the extra cash on

preparing, for example through increasing pumping capacity, he

added.

In India, agricultural firm UPL Limited's Chief

Financial Officer Bikash Prasad told an August 3 earnings call

that planting delays in India and Europe would push some demand

into later quarters.

Shrikant Kanhere, chief executive of AWL Agri Business

Limited, one of India's largest consumer goods companies, told

Reuters the El Nino was "a serious concern" and rural sales were

at risk if disruptions to agriculture cut people's income.

Reuters Climate Monitor showed parts of India were already 8

to 9 degrees Celsius above their 1961-1990 average on August 10,

with the average high across Asia 3.9 degrees above.

For some, the developing El Nino presents an opportunity

rather than a risk.

U.S. energy company AES ( AES ) said higher spot electricity

sales and prices in Colombia boosted second-quarter revenue by

$67 million.

The prospect of weaker harvests in parts of Asia could also

bolster farmers in the United States, said Benjamin Bahr,

portfolio manager at U.S.-based First Eagle Investments.

"The U.S. harvest I believe is going to be largely completed

as well. And so the folks that have these crops in storage

should have less risk and potentially more skewed upside if the

crop prices do react positively," he said.