Agrium Inc. reported 2017 second-quarter net earnings to equity holders of Agrium of $557 million ($4.03 diluted earnings per share) on sales of $6.3 billion, compared to year-ago net earnings to equity holders of $564 million ($4.08 per share) and $6.4 billion, respectively. The company said the slight reduction in net earnings was driven by weaker nitrogen and phosphate benchmark prices, which were partially offset by higher Retail earnings, strong potash results and lower fixed costs across the Wholesale business.
“Agrium continued to deliver robust results this quarter due to our integrated business model and focus on operational improvements and execution. Retail set a first half earnings record with the highest EBITDA to sales in almost a decade, while Wholesale delivered strong operational results, which together allowed us to generate $1.2-billion of EBITDA in the first half of 2017,” said Chuck Magro, Agrium’s president and CEO. “We look forward to the completion of our merger with PotashCorp which is anticipated near the end of the third quarter of this year and continue to make significant progress on integration preparations.”
Agrium has tightened its EPS guidance for the year to $4.75-$5.25 from $4.75-$5.75 citing a couple of factors. It said it lowered the upper end due to an expected weak nitrogen pricing environment and the challenging weather conditions in the spring which impacted North American Retail crop nutrient margins and sales volumes. However, it expects second-half earnings to have a similar quarterly earnings profile to 2016.
Six-month earnings were $548 million ($3.95 per share) on sales of $9 billion, down from the year-ago $568 million ($4.09 per share) and $9.1 billion, respectively.