The Mosaic Co. today reported second quarter 2015 net earnings of $391 million, compared to $248 million in the second quarter of 2014. Earnings per diluted share were $1.08 in the quarter compared to $0.64 last year. Notable items positively impacted current quarter earnings per share by $0.03.
Mosaic’s net sales in the second quarter were $2.5 billion, up from $2.4 billion in sales last year.
Operating earnings during the quarter were $510 million, up from $403 million a year ago.
The year-over-year change was driven by higher phosphates operating earnings primarily as a result of higher sales volumes, and higher potash operating earnings as a result of higher realized prices and benefits from lower operating costs, partially offset by higher Canadian resource taxes.
"Our second quarter results demonstrate the earnings leverage we’ve created," said Jim Prokopanko, president and CEO. "Over the course of the last two years, we have transformed Mosaic’s operations to become more efficient and made great progress in optimizing our balance sheet. This quarter we generated higher earnings per share than two years ago, notwithstanding lower potash and phosphates prices since then."
"We are pleased with the performance of each of our segments during the second quarter," said Rich Mack, executive vice president and CFO. "Demand from the export markets, combined with continued healthy fertilizer application rates in North America, led to good volumes and prices during the quarter. Cost reduction efforts and focused execution helped drive margin rates higher, resulting in a significant improvement in earnings compared to a year ago."