PCI Nitrogen LLC said May 10 that it plans to increase the production capacity of granular ammonium sulfate at its Pasadena, Texas, facility. PCI CEO James Costello said the plant’s infrastructure allows for a quick change with minimal capital expense.

“We have been exploring this increase in capacity for some time,” said Costello. “Our economy of scale combined with our logistical advantages gives us the confidence to proceed. With our scheduled turnaround later this month the time is right to take this step.”

More details were not immediately available.

PCI says it is the largest producer of synthetic ammonium sulfate in North America which is produced under its patented process.

OCI Partners LP reports net income of $14 million on revenues of $93 million for the first quarter ending March 31, 2017, up from a year-ago loss of $6 million on revenues of $70 million.

In other news, OCI Partners LP President and CEO Frank Bakker has resigned, effective May 12, to pursue other opportunities. Ahmed El-Hoshy, CEO of OCI NV in the Americas, has been appointed to succeed him.

OCI Partners LP reports that its Beaumont, Texas, ammonia and methanol plants had unplanned shutdowns in late April. While the ammonia plant returned to production May 2, the methanol plant remains down for repairs. During the improvements on the methanol plant, the ammonia plant will only be operating up to a rate of  70 percent capacity, depending on the availability of over-the-fence hydrogen. Overall, OCI estimates the methanol plant will be back up within 16 days of April 27, the date it first went down.

CF Industries Holding Inc. announced a first quarter 2017 net loss attributable to common stockholders of $23 million ($0.10 per diluted share) on revenues of $1.04 billion, compared to year-ago earnings of $26 million ($0.11 per share) and $1 billion, respectively.

“Outstanding execution by our team across the CF system delivered company record sales and production volumes in the first quarter, and we increased cash on our balance sheet as a result,” said Tony Will, CF president and CEO. “This high level of performance, paired with our enduring structural and operational advantages, positions us well for the rest of 2017 and the industry recovery we expect to begin in 2018.”

First-quarter sales volumes were 4.74 million st, up from the year-ago 4.05 million st.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. said today it has received a binding and irrevocable offer for its European and Australian consumer operations from Exponent Private Equity LLP. The proposed transaction, valued at approximately U.S.$250 million (USD), is expected to close during the company’s fiscal fourth quarter. The deal is still subject to prior consultation with the works councils, employee representative bodies and regulatory approval.

In other news, Scotts reported a dip in second-quarter earnings to $165.1 million from the year-ago $210.1 million. The company cited a better spring lawn and garden season for the year-ago time period.

“We’ve had strong momentum over the past several weeks and consumer purchases entering May – historically the peak of the lawn and garden season – are down less than one percent from last year,” said Jim Hagedorn, chairman and CEO.  “We expected a difficult comparison through the first half of the year and we are confident in how we are positioned for the balance of the season. We also remain pleased with the continued double-digit growth so far this year in our hydroponics products sold by the Hawthorne Gardening business.”

Shippers and National Weather Service are forecasting flooding throughout the heartland’s river system this week. The Illinois, Ohio, Mississippi, Arkansas Rivers and parts of the Gulf all currently at or forecast to hit flood stage later this week. Shippers are expecting major delays. Most expect fertilizer price ideas to be impacted as more river closure and delay information becomes available.

Agrium reports 1Q loss

Agrium Inc. announced today its 2017 first quarter results, with a net loss to equity holders of Agrium of $11 million ($0.08 diluted loss per share) compared to year-ago net earnings to equity holders of $2 million ($0.02 per share). The company said the reduction in net earnings was driven primarily by higher natural gas prices and lower phosphate prices relative to the first quarter of 2016.

Mosaic in 1Q loss column

The Mosaic Co. today reported a first quarter 2017 net loss of $1 million, compared to net earnings of $257 million in the first quarter of 2016. Earnings per diluted share were $0.00, which included a negative $0.04 impact from notable items. Mosaic’s net sales in the first quarter of 2017 were $1.6 billion, down from $1.7 billion last year, with lower prices more than offsetting higher sales volumes. Operating earnings during the quarter were $30 million, down from $163 million a year ago, driven by lower phosphate and potash prices, partially offset by lower phosphate raw materials costs and effective expense management.

“Our results do not yet reflect improving potash and phosphate market conditions we anticipate to benefit from for the remainder of the year,” said Joc O’Rourke, president and CEO. “This quarter we experienced several operational challenges which are now largely behind us.  Our constructive outlook hasn’t changed and we expect to see stronger earnings in the remainder of 2017.”

Intrepid reports 1Q improvement

Intrepid Potash Inc. reported a first quarter net loss of $13.7 million ($0.17 per diluted share), down from the year-ago loss of $18.4 million ($0.24 per share).

“Our transition to lower-cost solar potash production and Trio^®-only production at our East facility is beginning to show the promise we envisioned last year,” said Bob Jornayvaz, Intrepid’s executive chairman, president and CEO. “Solar-only potash production improved our potash margins, and Trio^® sales volumes reflected our work to expand our presence in the international market. We continue to make progress in our water marketing and expect water sales to provide meaningful cash flow as the year continues.”

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) on April 28 rejected a request by U.S. Nitrogen Co. LLC to extend the April 29, 2017 deadline to conduct performance testing of its nitric acid plant in Mosheim, Tenn. TDEC said USN’s arguments for the extension did not meet TDEC’s force majeure test in that USN only argued that the plant could not operate for an extended time due to economic and storage issues with the latter posing possible safety issues due to lack of permanent storage. Neither TDEC nor USN immediately responded to inquiries as to the current status of the plant or near term production plans as a result of the decision.

Just prior to the April 28 letter being issued, TDEC confirmed that the nitric acid plant did return to production April 26, went down a few hours on April 27 and was restarted and resumed production. The facility caused a major stir a few weeks ago due to a release of nitric acid vapor, which was believed to have resulted from a problem with a gasket.

TDEC did note in its April 28 letter to USN that the facility must apply for a conditional major operating permit no later than June 19, 2017. It said for the application to be considered complete all testing requirements within the construction permit must be met and all required reports must be submitted.

CVR Partners LP reported a first quarter 2017 net loss of $10.3 million ($0.09 per common unit), on net sales of $85.3 million, compared to net income of $18.0 million ($0.25  per common unit) on net sales of $73.1 million for the first quarter a year earlier. While sales volumes were up, prices were down.

“CVR Partners posted strong operational performance at our Coffeyville and East Dubuque fertilizer facilities during the 2017 first quarter, with both plants achieving on-stream rates just under 100 percent,” said CEO Mark Pytosh. “We also were pleased to deliver approximately $2 million in distributable cash flow for the quarter, which we achieved during the industry’s seasonably slow time of year. In addition, spring planting is underway and we expect demand to remain firm as farmers are forecasted to plant 90 million acres of corn this year.”

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. reported first-quarter earnings of $149 million ($0.18 per share), up from $75 million ($0.09 per share) generated in the same period of 2016. Sales were down at $1.1 billion from the year-ago $1.21 billion.

“Potash market fundamentals continued to improve in the first quarter, creating a supportive earnings environment,” said PotashCorp President and CEO Jochen Tilk. “We expect improved consumption trends and nutrient affordability in key markets to support potash demand and our results through the remainder of 2017.”