Yara International ASA delivered improved fourth-quarter results compared with a year earlier. Net income after non-controlling interests was NOK 846 million (NOK 3.10 per share) on revenues of NOK 23,937 million, compared with a year-ago net loss of NOK 333 million (NOK 1.22 per share) on NOK 22,327 million. However, for the full-year, income was down at NOK 3,948 million (NOK 14.45 per share) on revenues of 93,812 million from 2016’s NOK 6,360 million (NOK 23.25 per share) and NOK 97,170 million.

“Yara reports improved results with higher production, and the Yara Improvement Program ahead of schedule,” said Svein Tore Holsether, Yara president and CEO. “Our financial results are better, mainly due to higher market prices. However, fertilizer markets remain fundamentally supply-driven, and we remain focused on strengthening our own operations.”

Fourth-quarter fertilizer deliveries were 3 percent lower compared to a year earlier, driven by lower deliveries in North America, Brazil and Europe. Industrial deliveries were 3 percent higher than a year ago, reflecting continued growth for AdBlue.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. announced Feb. 7 after the markets closed that its wholly-owned subsidiary Terra Nitrogen GP Inc. has elected to exercise its right to purchase all of the 4,612,562 publicly traded common units of Terra Nitrogen Company LP (TNCLP) on April 2, 2018, for a cash purchase price of $84.033 per unit in accordance with the terms of TNCLP’s partnership agreement. As of the April 2, 2018, purchase date, all rights of the holders of the units will terminate, with the exception of the right to receive payment of the purchase price.

“Purchasing all of the publicly traded common units of TNCLP will allow CF to simplify our corporate structure and significantly reduce administrative costs associated with operating TNCLP,” said Tony Will, CF president and CEO. “It will be another positive step forward in our ongoing effort to reduce CF’s controllable costs.”

The purchase price of $84.033 per unit was determined under the terms of TNCLP’s partnership agreement as the average of the daily closing prices per common unit for the 20 consecutive trading days beginning with Jan. 5, 2018 and ending with Feb. 2, 2018.

The estimated purchase price of all of the 4,612,562 publicly traded common units of TNCLP is approximately $390 million. CF intends to fund the purchase with cash on hand. Upon completion of the purchase, TNCLP units will cease to be publicly traded or listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

OCI Partners LP, Nederland, Texas, reported net income of $24 million on revenues of $343 million for the year ending Dec. 31, 2017, compared to 2016’s net loss of $51 million on revenues of $258 million. The 2017 results are preliminary and unaudited, and were posted with the U.S. SEC Feb. 5 in anticipation of the company meetings with debt investors. 2017 EBITDA was put at $126.6 million, up from 2016’s $58.6 million. The company cited higher methanol prices for the improved results.

Nutrien Ltd. has released results of Agrium Inc. and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. for the fourth-quarter ending Dec. 31, 2017. Nutrien, the merger of the two, was created Jan. 1, 2018.

Agrium reported full-year net income of $315 million ($2.24 per diluted share) on sales of $13.8 billion compared to the year-ago $596 million ($4.29 per share) and $13.4 billion, respectively. Fourth-quarter net income was $18 million ($0.13 per share) on sales of $2.45 billion, down from the year-ago $67 million ($0.49 per share) and $2.2 billion, respectively.

PotashCorp 2017 net income was $327 million ($0.40 per share) on sales of $4.5 billion, up from 2016’s $323 million $(0.70 per share) and $4.5 billion, respectively. The fourth-quarter, however, saw a loss of $76 million ($0.10 per share) on sales of $1.08 billion, compared to the year-ago income of $46 million ($0.10 per share) and $1.06 billion, respectively.

Nutrien is providing 2018 guidance of $2.10-$2.60 earnings per share from continuing operations, with global potash sales expected in the 64-66 million mt range.

CommoditAg, a new online ordering platform, announced on Jan. 30, a partnership with Landmark Services Cooperative, Cottage Grove, Wisc.  The move will allow Wisconsin farmers to be served out of three locations—Cottage Grove, Evansville and East Troy. Growers will have the option of delivery or pick up. Landmark has more than 11,000 members in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

CommoditAg existing members are Sunrise Cooperative in Ohio and The Equity in Illinois.

CommoditAg is currently offering crop protection products only, but is adding plant nutrition products such as micros, foliars, starters, and biologicals (GM Jan. 5, p. 1). A seed line will also be added to the platform at some point during the year. The CommoditAg platform will not be offering primary N, P, and K bulk products.

Caribbean Nitrogen Co. (CNC) said Jan. 24 that it has been forced to immediately shut down its 650,000 mt/y ammonia plant on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate in Trinidad. It said the shutdown is a result of action taken by the National Gas Co. of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC) to cut off gas supply to the plant. CNC said it has been in a talks with NGC for almost a year and it has accepted multiple interim extensions of gas supply, up until Jan. 23.

CNC is owned by The Proman Group, Koch Ag & Energy Solutions and EOG Resources. Koch has an offtake agreement for the ammonia.

A possible merger between agriculture giants Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. and Bunge Ltd. has circulated within the past few days, according to a Bloomberg, citing a person briefed on the matter over the weekend. The news comes less than a year after Glencore Plc approached Bunge about a deal.

Neither company had responded to the report, which raises the possibility for a bidding battle between ADM and Glencore. Sources also anticipate much regulatory review.

Both companies have a relatively small involvement in fertilizer, compared to their grain operations.