Maumee, Ohio-Citing losses in its Plant Nutrient and Rail segments, The Andersons Inc. on Nov. 4 reported third-quarter net income of $1.3 million ($0.07 per diluted share), a 90 percent drop from last year’s $12.8 million ($0.70 per diluted share). Revenues for the quarter dropped 34 percent, to $601 million from last year’s $905.7 million. Nine-month earnings for the company were $22.1 million ($1.20 per diluted share) on revenues of $2.1 billion, compared with $66.3 million ($3.59 per diluted share) and $2.7 billion in the comparable period last year. The Plant Nutrient Group had an operating loss of $2.8 million on revenues of $70 million for the quarter, compared with operating income of $7.2 million on revenues of $162 million in last year’s third quarter. Margins were down significantly from last year, the company said, noting the “unprecedented inventory appreciation” that occurred in last year’s third quarter. “Retailers continue to maintain lower inventory holdings that led to reduced sales volume during the third quarter in comparison to the prior year,” the company said. Nine-month operating income for the Plant Nutrient Group was $9.6 million on $380 million in revenues, compared with $62.1 million on revenues of $541 million last year. The company again cited the “unprecedented margins” realized in 2008 by the group, which it said accounted for nearly two-thirds of the income for the same period. President and CEO Mike Anderson said the group experienced “a return to normal patterns following an extraordinary 2008.” The Rail Group had a third-quarter operating loss of $1.1 million on revenues of $21 million, down significantly from $5.2 million in earnings and $28 million in revenue during the same three-month period last year. The group saw double-digit declines in rail traffic, as well as lower profits from its leasing business. The Grain and Ethanol Group posted $8.9 million in operating income for the quarter, down from last year’s $9.4 million. The segment saw declines in grain business income, but improved margins in its ethanol business. The Turf and Specialty Group had a third-quarter operating loss of $0.3 million on $21 million of revenues, compared with last year’s loss of $0.5 million on revenues of $23 million. The Retail Group posted an operating loss of $2.3 million on revenues of $37 million in the third quarter, compared with last year’s operating loss of $0.2 million on revenues of $41 million. The Andersons touted its acquisition of Hartung Brothers Inc.’s Fertilizer Division (GM May 11, p. 12), which was completed in August. “This acquisition is allowing the group to expand its value added product offering, grow its wholesale customer base, and broaden its geographic territory,” the company said.

Oklahoma City-LSB Industries Inc. reported an operating loss in its chemical business of $3.3 million on sales of $59.7 million for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, 2009, compared to the year-ago $1.86 million and $124.5 million, respectively. LSB cited steep declines in commodity prices, including the selling prices for its products, accompanied by steep declines in raw material feedstock costs and lower tons sold in mining markets. Start-up costs of the Pryor nitrogen plant grew to $7.1 million during the quarter from the expected $4 million. Barring further delays, the expected September start-up has now stretched into December. LSB also said there was a $1 million embedded loss on firm sales commitments as of Sept. 30, 2009. This includes the effect of higher natural gas costs and the cost in excess of committed selling prices for those tons that were expected to be acquired on the open market to make up for the Pryor shortfall. LSB said the long-term outlook for grain and crop production is good, and that UAN pricing is now firming. It said signs point to improved sales and margins in all three of its primary chemical markets in 2010. Nine-month chemical income was $15.5 million on sales of $204.1 million, versus the year-ago $34.5 million and $329.3 million. Company-wide, LSB reported net income of $1.1 million ($.05 diluted share) on sales of $127.8 million, versus the year-ago $4.2 million ($.18 per share) and $210.9 million. Nine-month net income was $21.5 million ($.95 per share) on sales of $416.5 million, versus the year-ago $33 million ($1.40 per share) and $569.4 million.

Tulsa-Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP) reported a $3.37 million operating loss for its anhydrous ammonia pipeline for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, 2009, on sales of $4 million. MMP said both margins and expenses were negatively impacted by additional maintenance work performed on the pipeline during the quarter. Expenses during the quarter were $7.4 million, with volumes of 125,000 st. For the year-ago quarter, the unit had operating margins of $362,000 on sales of $5.1 million, with expenses of $4.7 million and volumes of 177,000 st. In August, MMP settled allegations made by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency relating to two ammonia pipeline leaks for a penalty of $3.7 million, and agreed to perform certain operational enhancements (GM Aug. 24). It also settled a third-party operator defense and indemnification demand for $800,000. Nine-month operating results were also in the negative column at $1.2 million on sales of $12.5 million, with expenses of $13.7 million and volumes of 420,000 st. The year-ago period saw operating margins of $6.7 million on sales of $16.5 million, with expenses of $9.8 million and volumes of 624,000 st. Company-wide, third-quarter net income was $54.2 million ($.43 per unit) on sales of $239.8 million, versus the year-ago $69.3 million ($.46 per unit) and $292.2 million, respectively. Nine-month net income was $144.5 million ($1.11 per unit) on sales of $660.9 million, versus the year-ago $249.0 million ($1.70 per unit) and $912.0 million.

Santiago-Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) reported that net income for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, 2009, was down 43 percent, to $82.3 million ($.31 per ADR) on sales of $383.5 million, compared to the year-ago $190.6 million ($.72 per ADR) and $589.1 million, respectively. Specialty Plant Nutrition (SPN) sales were off 50 percent, to $170.4 million from the year-ago $341.1 million. “Although quarterly earnings are significantly lower than those recorded in the third quarter last year, this decline is overstated given that 3Q08 was the highest quarter ever recorded in company history,” said SQM CEO Patricio Contesse. “Additionally, net income recorded in 3Q09 is 98 percent higher than net income posted in 3Q07, making 3Q09 earnings the second highest third quarter earnings reported.” SQM believes markets have bottomed out across all business lines and are beginning to turn around. Contesse said it is reasonable to expect the prices for all fertilizer products to be lower in 2010 than in 2009; however, the company expects moderately higher volumes for the SPN division and significantly higher potash volumes for next year in line with SQM’s capacity increase. “We believe that by the end of 2010 demand levels for all of our businesses should reach pre-crisis levels and begin to grow at the high growth rates observed before the economic crisis,” said Contesse. He said 2010 will be a transition year that should be followed by a growth period positively influenced by SQM’s increased potash production, as well as higher demand for lithium for battery storage, nitrates for solar energy storage, and the potentially better pricing conditions that should accompany demand growth. SQM reported nine-month net income of $251.7 million ($.96 per ADR) on sales of $1.05 billion, versus the year-ago $381.1 million ($1.45 per ADR) and $1.38 billion. Nine-month SPN revenues were $481.7 million, down from the year-ago $787.5 million.

Marysville, Ohio-Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. reported net income of $153.3 million ($2.32 per diluted share) on sales of $3.14 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009, compared to the prior year loss of $10.9 million ($.17 per share) and sales of $2.98 billion. “We started the lawn and garden season with momentum and never lost it, allowing us to deliver strong results for fiscal 2009,” said Jim Hagedorn, Scotts chairman and CEO. “We’re obviously pleased with our results, which validate the resilience of the lawn and garden category and the strength of our brands with our consumers and our retail partners. Consumer purchases of our products at our largest U.S. retailers grew 15 percent for the year, with double-digit improvements in 46 states.” Fourth-quarter sales were up 7 percent, to $583.4 million versus the year-ago $544.2 million. Scotts had a fourth-quarter net loss of $14.9 million ($.23 per share) versus the year-ago loss of $34.7 million ($.54 per share). Scotts’ initial guidance for 2010 assumes sales growth of 3-5 percent and net income in a range of $3.00-$3.10 per share. The forecast excludes the impact of product recall and registration issues and includes an expected benefit of $.15 per share due to the elimination of losses from Smith & Hawken, which will be reported as a discontinued operation beginning in the first fiscal quarter.

Cranbury, N.J.-Specialty phosphate maker Innophos Holdings Inc. reported an 81 percent drop in net income for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, 2009, to $15.1 million ($.69 per diluted share) on sales of $161.9 million, versus the year-ago $79.6 million ($3.62 per share) and $291.8 million. The company expects fourth-quarter volumes, except for GTSP fertilizer sales, to be very similar to those of third quarter 2009. It expects selling prices to decline at a rate significantly lower than that experienced in the third quarter. Fourth-quarter raw materials costs are expected to increase $4-$5 million due to the company’s phosphoric acid sourcing mix. Innophos noted that its phosphate rock supply agreement with OCP will end on Sept. 9, 2010. During the remainder of the contract, the company expects conditions will continue to be difficult for its Mexican operations. Through an ongoing focus on efficiency, the business is targeting a minimum goal of remaining profitable until the sourcing situation improves. Innophos and OCP are in arbitration over their rock contract, and OCP has asked the tribunal in Paris to order Innophos to furnish OCP $68.4 million as interim security. Innophos says it will vigorously oppose the request and does not believe it will be granted. The first hearing of the arbitration is slated for mid-November, with its completion expected in July 2010. Going forward, Innophos said it is not considering entering into a new single-source arrangement as it does not believe that would be in its strategic benefit. Major capital expenditures in the quarter included debottlenecking specialty units on the U.S. and Canada, upgrading the Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, food grade capacity, and evaluating the Baja Mexico phosphate mineral rights. Nine-month net income was $63 million ($2.88 per share) on sales of $519.8 million, versus the year-ago $148.2 million ($6.83 per share) and $718.3 million.

Loveland, Colo.-Agrium Advanced Technologies, a unit of Agrium Inc., said Oct. 30 that it will make capital investments to the Sylacauga, Ala., manufacturing operations to allow for an expansion of its Duration CR® polymer-coated fertilizer product line. Work begins in November 2009 and will involve the addition of equipment and materials to enable manufacturing of the proprietary Duration CR coating technology. New products to be produced include small-sized urea and potassium fertilizers for golf course markets and homogenous NPKs for horticulture markets. The plant expansion will ensure that Agrium Advanced Technologies is able to meet the growing demand for its products. The completion date for the project is expected to be the first quarter of 2010. “We are seeing increased demand for Duration CR at various levels in the channel and we want to ensure that we have the best solutions for all of our customers,” says Andrew Mittag, president, Agrium Advanced Technologies. Duration CR fertilizers feature a precision controlled-release mechanism that is environmentally friendly and protects against leaching. The advanced polymer-coating technology gradually releases nutrients as plants need them, and this efficiency enables up to 25 percent less nitrogen to be applied per year. “This product line expansion is consistent with our vision to be the global leader in providing environmentally sound, high performance plant growth technologies,” added Mittag. Duration CR urea-based products are currently manufactured in Carseland, Alberta. The additional Alabama production capability allows Agrium Advanced Technologies to better serve its customers in eastern North America and around the world.

Omaha-Union Pacific Railroad and CSX Transportation have jointly launched RailChem Connect, described as a coordinated rail service for the expedited transport of chemicals – including anhydrous ammonia – between the Texas Gulf Coast region and the Southeast. The announcement from both companies says RailChem is the result of increased coordination and re-designed interline service by the two railroads for their chemical market customers. The service allows shipments to bypass smaller rail yards for expedited transit between major hubs. “Our RailChem Connect service will allow Union Pacific and CSXT to safely and efficiently transport more than 1,000 carloads annually of chemicals Americans use every day, including anhydrous ammonia,” UP spokesman Tom Lange explained. However, according to UP Vice President for Chemicals Diane Duren, the impact of the UP/CSXT arrangement on anhydrous ammonia initially will not be significant. “We don’t tend to move a lot of ammonia (between the Southwest and Southeast),” Duren told Green Markets. “There would be a fairly small amount because there tends to be adequate supply already in place.” Duren added that future arrangements relating to RailChem will be more significant for ammonia shipments. The joint announcement declared that RailChem Connect involves increased operations coordination between the railroads. The effort is designed to increase the reliability of east- and west-bound service between Union Pacific-served chemical markets such as Houston, southern Texas, and Louisiana, and CSXT-served consumption markets in the southeastern states. RailChem Connect offers more consistent transit times, faster equipment turns, and a shorter route than previously available for chemical shipments in this corridor. “Our teams are coordinating efforts to focus on an improved service product for chemicals customers by reducing transit times and tightening the variability in our delivery, significantly improving reliability for customers,” Duren said.