The Mosaic Co. today reported fourth quarter 2015 net earnings of $155 million, down from $361 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Earnings per diluted share were $0.44 and included both a negative $0.16 impact from notable items and a benefit of $0.07 per share from adjusting the full year effective tax rate accrual.

Mosaic’s net sales in the fourth quarter of 2015 were $2.2 billion, down from $2.4 billion last year.

Operating earnings were $204 million, down from $365 million a year ago, impacted by lower potash and phosphate prices and volumes, as well as lower potash production, partially offset by cost savings.

“Our fourth quarter results reflect the cyclicality and seasonality of our business,” said Joc O’Rourke, president and CEO. “Our progress on cost savings initiatives and strategic investments has positioned Mosaic to optimize performance in the current macroeconomic environment. At the same time, our prudent balance sheet
management allows us to take advantage of opportunities to create long-term value. Repurchasing shares at the bottom of the cycle is high on the priority list.” The company announced a $75 million accelerated share repurchase plan.

For the year, Mosaic net earnings were $1 billion ($2.78 per share) on sales of $8.9 billion almost level with the year-ago $1.03 billion ($2.68 per share) and $9.06 billion.

Yara International ASA reported fourth-quarter net income after non-controlling interests of NOK 434 million (NOK 1.58 per share), compared with NOK 1,860 million (NOK 6.74 per share) a year earlier. Excluding net foreign exchange gain and special items, the result was NOK 3.97 per share compared with NOK 8.17 per share in fourth quarter 2014. Revenues were NOK 25,722 million, down from NOK 26,230 million.

"Yara reports weaker results than a year ago, reflecting a tougher market environment with declining prices, but also an unsatisfactory operational performance with significant downtime in several of our plants," said Svein Tore Holsether, Yara president and CEO. "However, I am pleased to see continued growth in Brazil, especially for the premium product deliveries, as well as another strong result from the Industrial segment."

Full-year income was up at NOK 8,083 million on revenue of NOK 111,897 million from 2014’s NOK 7,625 million and NOK 95,343 million, respectively.

Agrium Inc. on Feb. 9 reported fourth-quarter net earnings from continuing operations of $200 million ($1.45 diluted earnings per share), compared with $70 million ($0.46 diluted earnings per share) in the fourth quarter of 2014. Agrium said the increased net earnings were driven by strong performance of its Wholesale business unit, which achieved reduced cost of production and higher overall sales volumes for all three nutrients.

Retail’s fourth quarter earnings were also higher than last year, despite wet weather in the U.S. during the fall application season. On an annual basis, 2015 net earnings from continuing operations were $988 million ($6.98 diluted earnings per share), compared with $798 million ($5.51 diluted earnings per share) in 2014.

"Agrium achieved a strong finish to 2015, despite lower nutrient prices and challenging commodity markets,” said Chuck Magro, Agrium president and CEO. “A key differentiator for the company was our integrated strategy, which helped provide stability in our earnings. We also benefited from the proactive steps we took to further strengthen the company over the past year, including a renewed focus on execution and controlling our controllables. These benefits flowed through to our bottom line, helped us to generate $8.59 of free cash flow per share and drive increased returns to shareholders, while still investing in future earnings growth.”

Wholesale fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA was reported at $372 million, which Agrium said demonstrated improved utilization rates in its nitrogen and potash segments and higher overall Wholesale sales volumes. Realized selling prices in the segment decreased, however, as a result of weaker market conditions. Agrium also reported that Wholesale’s gross profit significantly increased due to manufacturing cost efficiencies associated with higher production volumes, reduced overall fixed costs, and lower natural gas input costs for the fourth quarter compared to the same periods last year.

Retail EBITDA was higher than the same quarter last year as a result of strong year-end rebates for crop protection products and seed as well as lower operating expenses as a result of cost reduction initiatives implemented in 2015. Retail’s sales and gross profit decreased for the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year, however, primarily due to unfavorable weather conditions and the closure of one of Agrium’s livestock export businesses in Australia. Agrium said the decrease in gross profit was partially offset by higher rebates received in the fourth quarter of 2015.

"Nutrient prices have been under pressure globally, but we are optimistic we will see a strong spring application season across North America,” said Magro. “We remain focused on operational excellence and our growth strategy, controlling what we can in order to reduce our cost position, while continuing to optimize and grow our more stable Retail operations.”

Agrium announced a 2016 annual guidance range of $5.50 to $7.00 diluted earnings per share. The macroeconomic environment continues to be challenging for commodities, the company said, resulting in many commodities trading at multi-year lows in early 2016. Agrium noted that crop nutrient prices have declined over the past few months, citing lower-than-expected fall applications that left fertilizer inventories at higher-than-expected levels throughout the supply chain.

“The combination of expected increase in U.S. corn acreage and the poor fall application season is anticipated to result in strong U.S. crop nutrient demand in the first half of 2016,” Agrium said. “Based on expected crop acreage, North American crop nutrient demand is expected to increase by 1 to 3 percent in 2015/16, but phosphate and potash demand may fall below that range as volumes lost due to the poor fall season may

In response to current crop nutrient market conditions, The Mosaic Company announced on Feb. 3 that it will reduce production in its Phosphates business. The company intends to reduce production by up to 400,000 mt, with rotating plant shutdowns in the first quarter of 2016.
 
"With the recent price volatility and decline in raw material costs, buyers appear to be delaying purchases. This is lengthening the seasonal period of weak demand," said Rick McLellan, Senior Vice President, Commercial. "Today’s crop nutrient prices, including phosphates, are attractive to farmers globally and we expect a strong demand response after this seasonally slow period."

"The long-term positive outlook for phosphates has not changed, but we are adjusting our production levels to match immediate demand and manage our margins," said Joc O’Rourke, Mosaic President and CEO.

Tessenderlo Kerley Inc. (TKI) reports that Jordan Burns, the current president and former CEO, has elected to leave TKI after 20 years in senior management.

TKI said that during his time the company established itself as a key supplier to the agricultural sector, with key product offerings in both Crop Nutrition and Crop Protection.

With the announced departure, Mr. Luc Tack will assume the responsibilities of president along with his role as CEO.

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. announced today that it has bought a minority stake in Bonnie Plants Inc., the largest provider in the U.S. of potted vegetables and herbs sold to gardeners through a variety of retail outlets. Bonnie is owned by privately-held Alabama Farmers Cooperative (AFC). Scotts said the AFC board has approved the deal and closing is dependent on approval by AFC members as well as restructuring of existing financing.

In other news, Scotts reported a 14 percent increase in net sales to $245.7 million for the first quarter ending Jan. 2, 2016, from the year-ago $216.2 million. Scotts said the uptick was due to strong shipments in core U.S. markets, new acquisitions as well as the current quarter including an extra six days versus the year-ago period. The latter added another $15 million to sales. The company reported a seasonal loss of $80.8 million ($1.32 per diluted share) compared to the year-ago loss of $74 million ($1.23 per share).

The board of directors of Shrieve Chemical Co. has named Ted Threadgill as president and CEO of the company. He will be responsible for all global entities of Shrieve Chemical and will operate from Shrieve World Headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas.

Threadgill is a Winter Haven, Fla., native, who started his career with trucking conglomerate Comcar Industries in 1989. He joined the fertilizer industry with Comcar subsidiary CTL Distribution in Mulberry Fla., where he served the “Bone Valley” phosphate region. He joined Shrieve in 1994 managing Shrieve’s Southeast region, established and managed Shrieve’s Jacksonville sulfuric terminal in 2002, joined the Shrieve board in 2004, and in 2015 relocated to The Woodlands,  with his family. He can be reached at tthreadgill@shrieve.com or 281.367.4226.
 
In other structural changes at Shrieve, after a two year planned transition, Jerry Jackson, former president of Shrieve Chemical, has stepped down to accept the role of executive vice president and will serve as board chairman. Jackson, a 40 year veteran of the fertilizer and chemical industry remains a full-time employee of Shrieve and can be reached at jjackson@shrieve.com or 281.367.4226.
 
Replacing Threadgill in the Southeast is Chris Burns who is the Shrieve marketing manager-Southeast. He is also a Winter Haven native and joined Shrieve in 2010 from the financial industry and is based out of his office in Winter Haven. Chris can be reached at cburns@shrieve.com or 281.367.4226.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. and CHS Inc. announced Feb. 1 that they have commenced their previously announced nitrogen fertilizer strategic venture. CHS completed its $2.8 billion equity investment in CF Industries Nitrogen LLC, a CF Industries subsidiary, and on Feb. 1 began receiving delivery of urea and UAN from CF under a long-term supply agreement.
 
“We are pleased today to start our strategic venture with CHS, beginning the next chapter in a mutually beneficial long-term relationship,” said Tony Will, CF president and CEO. “The venture will deliver attractive returns to CF shareholders as the equity investment helps support our longstanding capital allocation priorities and the supply agreement connects us to a reliable partner who will take ratable delivery of product across the year.”

“This is an important day for CHS member-owners as we not only complete the single largest investment in our history, but more importantly establish long-term dependable nitrogen fertilizer supply, supply chain efficiency and opportunity for economic value,” said Carl Casale, CHS president and CEO. “This is a strategic decision about adding value for our member cooperative- and producer-owners on par with the significant investments made in our energy and grains businesses over our 85 years of operation.”

CHS has purchased a minority equity interest in CF Nitrogen for $2.8 billion effective Feb. 1, 2016. Through the investment, CHS will be entitled to semi-annual profit distributions from CF Nitrogen based generally on the volume of granular urea and UAN purchased by CHS pursuant to the supply agreement.

Starting Feb. 1, 2016, CHS is entitled to purchase up to 1.1 million st of granular urea and 580,000 st of UAN annually from CF Nitrogen for ratable delivery. The 1.7 million product tons available under the supply agreement represent approximately 8.9 percent of CF’s total production capacity once its capacity expansion projects are completed at Donaldsonville, La., and Port Neal, Iowa, expected in 2016.

The two companies marked the start of the strategic relationship with an event for CHS fertilizer customers at CF’s Port Neal Nitrogen Complex.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. reported a 51 percent drop in fourth-quarter net income to $201 million ($0.24 per diluted share) on sales of $1.35 billion, down from the year-ago $407 million ($0.49 per share) and $1.9 billion. The company cited weaker fertilizer prices late in the year giving rise to a more cautious outlook.

The company opted to cut its quarterly dividend 34 percent to $0.25 per share payable May 3, 2016. “We believe this level – representing a payout ratio of close to 100 percent of 2016 earnings – remains highly competitive and balances the interests of our many stakeholders, including equity and debtholders,” said PotashCorp President and CEO Jochen Tilk.

Full-year income was off 17 percent to $1.27 billion ($1.52 per share) on sales of $6.28 billion compared to the prior year $1.54 billion ($1.82 per share) and $7.11 billion, respectively.

Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP said Jan. 26 that a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rentech Nitrogen has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to the proposed spin-out of its Pasadena, Texas facility.

It is a condition to the completion of the pending merger of Rentech Nitrogen with CVR Partners LP that Rentech Nitrogen sell or spin-out its Pasadena facility pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement. Rentech Nitrogen filed the registration statement to prepare for a potential spin-out of the Pasadena facility in the event it is unable to close on a sale of the facility on acceptable terms in a timely manner.