LSB Industries Inc., Oklahoma City, reported fourth-quarter income of $914,000 ($0.26 per diluted share) on sales of $88.9 million, up from the year-ago loss of $21.5 million ($1.06 per share) and $85.4 million, respectively.

LSB Industries Inc. said better pricing, increased production at its El Dorado plant and improved demand for mining products in the fourth-quarter, was offset somewhat by downtime at the Pryor plant. So far in 2018, LSB reports higher prices for most of its products.

LSB posted a full-year loss of $29.2 million ($2.18 per share) on sales of $427.5 million, compared to 2016’s net income of $112.2 million ($2.54 per share) and $374.6 million, respectively. Much of the year-ago income came from discontinued operations.

Intrepid Potash Inc., Denver, reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.4 million ($0.01 per diluted share) on sales of $33.3 million versus the year-ago loss of $16.6 million ($0.22 per share) and $42.2 million, respectively.

“We continue to execute on our transition and diversification strategies, driving improvements in our year-over-year results,” said Bob Jornayvaz, Intrepid’s executive chairman, president, and CEO. “Potash segment margins benefited from our lower-cost solar-only production profile, and improvements in the domestic Trio^® market led to the first announced price increase since early 2015.” He also said International Trio^® sales volumes are trending upward and the company’s water and by-product sales were in line with expectations for the quarter.

“Our decision to build potash inventory going into 2018 should allow us to capitalize on the recent price increase,” he added. “Price increases for both potash and Trio^® are building on the improved market conditions from the second half of 2017 and we expect these solid fundamentals to carry through the first half of 2018.”

The full-year loss was $22.9 million ($0.20 per share) on sales of $157.6 million down from 2016’s $66.6 million ($0.88 per share) and $210.9 million, respectively.

Nitrogen producer CVR Partners LP, Sugar Land, Texas, reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $27.4 million ($0.24 cents per common unit), on net sales of $78.2 million, compared to a year-ago net loss of $14.5 million ($0.13 cents per unit), on net sales of $84.9 million.

CVR had a full year net loss of $72.8 million ($0.64 per unit), on net sales of $330.8 million, compared to 2016’s net loss of $26.9 million ($0.26 per unit) on net sales of $356.3 million.

Lower UAN and ammonia prices were reported for both the fourth quarter and the year. Fourth-quarter ammonia volumes were up but UAN were down. Both were up for the year.

“We were pleased with the overall operating performance of our Coffeyville plant during the 2017 fourth quarter,” said Mark Pytosh, CVR CEO. “The fall ammonia application was much stronger in the 2017 fourth quarter than the previous year, leading to lower customer product inventories compared to last year.”

“So far in 2018, we have seen lower nitrogen product imports, steady customer demand and increasing prices for nitrogen,” he added. “For the spring, most industry participants are expecting approximately 90 million corn acres to be planted.”

Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, said Feb. 20 that its board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.40 per common share payable on April 20, 2018 to shareholders of record on March 29, 2018. The dividend represents a 27 percent increase from its legacy companies combined payout level. Nutrien says it will target a stable and growing dividend that represents 40 to 60 percent of free cash flow after sustaining capital through the cycle. 

Nutrien’s board also approved the purchase of up to five percent of Nutrien’s outstanding common shares over a one-year period through a normal course issuer bid (NCIB).

“Today’s announcement reflects the confidence in our business to generate strong and growing free cash flow,” said Nutrien President and CEO Chuck Magro. “Nutrien is the leading global crop input company, with significant leverage to a recovery in agricultural markets and earnings stability from our integrated platform. We are committed to returning cash to shareholders, while maintaining the financial strength to deliver on growth opportunities that provide superior long-term returns.”

The Mosaic Co. reported a fourth-quarter 2017 net loss of $431 million, compared to net income of $12 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Fourth quarter loss per share was $1.23, which included a negative impact of $1.57 per share from notable items, primarily related to non-cash charges as a result of changes in U.S. tax legislation. Adjusted earnings per share during the fourth quarter of 2017 were $0.341.

“After a strong fourth quarter, we entered 2018 with positive market momentum and expect this year will be a transformational year for Mosaic,” said Joc O’Rourke, Mosaic president and CEO. “The addition of Vale Fertilizantes, the construction completion of the Ma’aden phosphate project and progress on the Esterhazy K3 complex further enhance our position as a world class, global fertilizer company.”

Mosaic’s net sales in the fourth quarter of 2017 were $2.1 billion, compared to $1.9 billion last year, primarily driven by higher realized prices throughout the business. Operating earnings during the quarter were $127 million, up from $74 million a year ago, driven by higher gross margins in both Potash and Phosphates.

Mosaic reported a full-year net loss of $107 million, or $0.31 per share, compared to net earnings of $298 million, or $0.85 per share in 2016. Full-year adjusted earnings per share of $1.09 exclude the negative impact of a $1.40 of notable items, primarily related to non-cash charges as a result of the recently enacted U.S. tax reform. The $458 million non-cash charge is driven by the revaluation of our tax assets as of Dec. 31, 2017.

Full-year net sales were $7.4 billion, up from $7.2 billion a year ago. Full-year operating earnings were $466 million, up from $319 million last year, primarily driven by higher average realized sales prices and higher sales volumes in potash.

The Andersons Inc., Maumee, Ohio, said Feb. 14 it is selling three Tennessee grain elevators to Tyson Foods. The sale of elevators in Humboldt, Kenton and Dyer is expected to close in March.

In the meantime, the company is exploring its options for three other elevators in Tennessee.

A fourth-quarter $17.1 million writedown in goodwill in its wholesale fertilizer business helped move the Andersons Plant Nutrient Group (PNG) to a pretax loss of $18 million on sales of $136.9 million compared to the year-ago loss of $3.8 million on sales of $136.4 million, respectively. While sales volumes were up for the quarter, margins tightened in what the company called a “persistently soft market.”

PNG reported a full-year loss of $45.1 million on sales of $651.8 million, down from the prior year income of $14.2 million on sales of $725.2 million, respectively.

Company-wide, The Andersons benefited from a one-time $74.2 million tax gain under the next tax laws. Fourth-quarter net income attributable to The Andersons was $68.4 million ($2.42 per diluted share) on sales of $1 billion, up from the year-ago $10.1 million ($0.36 per share) and $1.1 billion, respectively. Full-year income was $41.2 million ($1.46 per share) on sales of $3.7 billion up from $11.6 million ($0.41 per share) and $3.9 billion, respectively.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. reported fourth-quarter net income attributable to common shareholders of $465 million ($1.98 per diluted share) on net sales of $1.1 billion, compared to the year-ago loss of $320 million ($1.38 per share) and $867 million, respectively. The results include a $491 million tax benefit from recent legislation. CF reported an adjusted net loss of $3 million ($0.02 per share) compared to a year-ago loss of $90 million ($0.39 per share).

Full-year net income was $358 million ($1.53 per share) on sales of $4.1 billion, up from the prior year loss of $277 million ($1.19 per share) on sales of $3.7 billion. However, the company had an adjusted full-year loss of $59 million ($0.25 per share) versus 2016 adjusted income of $109 million ($0.47 per share).

Compass Minerals reported a fourth quarter loss of $4.4 million on sales of $457.9 million down from the year-ago positive $97.6 million and $443.2 million.

The new tax law resulted in one-time tax on un-remitted foreign earnings. Based on current company estimates, this one-time tax totals about $55.2 million. Compass also recorded a net tax expense of $13.8 million in quarter related to the company’s Canadian tax positions for the years 2007 through 2016 as a result of a settlement with Canadian and U.S. tax authorities.

Full-year results were down at $42.7 million from $162.7 million.

While fourth-quarter Salt results were pressured by a slow start to the winter season, operating earnings were up for both of the company’s Plant Nutrition segments—North America and South America.