Agrium Inc. reported net income of $3 million ($0.02 per diluted share) on sales of $3.08 billion for the first quarter ending March 31, 2014, compared to the year-ago $141 million ($0.94 per share) and $3.16 billion, respectively.
“Agrium’s first quarter is traditionally our seasonally lowest earnings quarter and this was exacerbated this year by the record cold winter across North America,” said Chuck Magro, Agrium president and CEO. “However, farmer sentiment is positive this spring and we are now seeing good demand for crop input products and services. Agrium achieved a record $788 million in operating cash flow this quarter, despite the lower net earnings, as we continue to focus on reducing working capital needs.”
Agrium is providing guidance for the second quarter 2014 of $3.85-$4.35 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations. The outage at the Carseland nitrogen plant is expected to impact second quarter earnings due to lost production and higher costs. This impact is $0.35 per share.