PotashCorp 1Q income off 39 percent
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. reported a 39 percent drop in first quarter net income to $340 million ($0.40 per diluted share) on sales of $1.68 billion, compared to the year-ago $556 million ($0.63 per share) on sales of $2.1 billion. While earnings were down they exceeded earlier PotashCorp and analyst projections. One special factor was a $69 million ($0.06 per share) special dividend from PotashCorp’s stake in Israel Chemicals Ltd.
After a challenging second half 2013, PotashCorp said greater demand and stability emerged in the first quarter. Sales volumes were up for both potash and nitrogen, though they were down for phosphate products.