Agrium swings to Q1 loss on higher costs, lower phosphate prices

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Higher natural gas prices and lower phosphate prices have driven Calgary-based Agrium to a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss.

The owner of the largest farming input retail distribution network in North America, which is in the process of merging with Canadian counterpart Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan to create a new $36-billion entity, reported a net loss of $11-million, or $0.08 a share, compared with net earnings of $2-million, or $0.02 a share, a year earlier.

Removing special items, Agrium reported an after-tax adjusted loss of $4-million, or $0.03 a share, beating average analyst forecasts for an adjusted loss of $0.07 a share.

The company sold 636 000 t of potash during the period ended March, at an average of $208/t, compared with 456 000 t at $199/t a year earlier.

Revenues were down slightly at $2.72-billion, missing analyst expectations of $2.77-billion.

The company said earnings were impacted in part by phosphate prices, which fell to $466/t in the quarter, compared with $589/t for the comparable quarter last year.

Last week, PotashCorp surprised investors with a bigger-than-expected first-quarter profit of $149-million, or $0.18 a share, nearly double the $75-million, or $0.09 a share, reported for the comparable period of 2016.

Agrium noted that global potash shipments finished strong in 2016 and the momentum has carried forward into 2017, which has maintained relatively low supply availability. Global potash production rates have increased and further capacity additions are expected in 2017, which could lead buyers to be cautious following the spring application season, the company commented.