Nutrien Ltd. announced a fourth-quarter net loss from continuing operations of $48 million versus the positive year-ago $296 million. The company said the results were caused by the impact of a temporary slow down in global fertilizer demand that more that offset a strong performance by Retail.
The company said 2019 net earnings from continuing operations increased to $992 million from the year-ago loss of $31 million due to solid operational results, the continued benefit of merger related synergies and operational improvements and a non-cash impairment of the New Brunswick potash facility in 2018.
“Agriculture fundamentals are strengthening and grower sentiment is positive. We expect higher planting and favorable farm economics to support strong North American crop input demand in 2020,” said Chuck Magro, Nutrien President and CEO.