Both The Mosaic Co., Tampa, and Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, reported the impact on soft fertilizer markets on their third-quarter results released Nov. 4. Both companies reduced 2019 guidance.
Mosaic’s posted a third-quarter net loss attributable to Mosaic of $44.1 million ($0.11 per diluted share) on net sales of $2.75 billion, compared to year-ago net income of $247.5 million ($0.64 per share) and $2.93 billion, respectively.
“While the challenging market environment has persisted longer than we had anticipated, the actions we are taking give us an improved platform to deliver value and shareholder returns,” said Mosaic President and CEO Joc O’Rourke. “We are seeing volumes move in North America and believe that strong volumes will lead to improved pricing. We believe that the bottom of the market is in and that 2020 will be a much stronger year for Mosaic and the customers we serve.”
Mosaic also revised full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to $1.4-$1.5 billion down from $1.8-$2 billion and adjusted EPS guidance to $0.50-$0.60 down from $1.10-$1.50, primarily reflecting the impact of historically low potash sales volumes due to delayed Canpotex shipments to India and China, and expectations that phosphate margins and pricing remain consistent with September 2019 levels, $10-$15/mt lower than the third-quarter 2019 average.
Nutrien was in the plus column with third-quarter net income of $141 million ($0.24 per diluted share) on sales of $4.13 billion compared to the year-ago loss of $1.04 billion ($1.70 per share) and $3.99 billion, respectively.
“Nutrien’s third-quarter results and fourth-quarter expectations are impacted by short term market softness,” said Chuck Magro, Nutrien President and CEO. “However, we believe that agriculture fundamentals are starting to strengthen and we expect 2020 to be a strong year for crop input demand for which we are well positioned to benefit.” Based on nine-month results and market factors, Nutrien has lowered 2019 adjusted net earnings guidance to $2.30-$2.55 per share, down from $2.70-$3.00 and adjusted EBITDA to $4-$4.3 billion, down from $4.35-$4.7 billion.