PotashCorp posts record quarter
>>>Well here was an obvious one I missed. The old ethanol, Loonie, potash play. Sitting right under my nose. Wonder if its too late??? Still there will always be a little knock on effect due to the NG component in nitrogen based fertilizers.<<<
Canadian Press
July 26, 2007 at 8:35 AM EDT
SASKATOON — — Fertilizer giant Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. [POT-T] is reporting record quarterly earnings: $285.7-million in the second quarter, up 63 per cent from $175.1-million a year ago on strong global sales.
“These results reflect strengthening price and volume performance in all three nutrients, including a significant increase in potash volumes from last year's second quarter, when China and India delayed purchasing during extended price negotiations,” the Saskatoon-based company said Thursday.
Earnings for the quarter ended June 30 amounted to 88 cents a share, compared with 55 cents per share a year ago. The company reports in U.S. dollars.
Last year's second quarter included tax-related benefits of 17 cents a share.
Offshore investments in Arab Potash Co. Ltd. in Jordan, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile [SQM-N]in Chile, Israel Chemicals Ltd. in Israel and Sinofert Holdings Ltd. in China “all enhanced our performance,” the company said in a release.
APC and SQM together contributed earnings of $29.8-million in the quarter, while dividend income received from ICL and Sinofert totalled $38.7-million. So far this year, these investments have contributed $81.5-million to income line, more than double the same period last year.
“The fundamentals that drive our business have aligned for the foreseeable future, and we are well positioned to capitalize on the growing global need for all three primary nutrients," said PotashCorp CEO Bill Doyle.
“Fertilizer applications have increased as farmers around the world strive to keep pace with the rising demand for crops.”
Potash gross margin reached a record $260.4-million in the second quarter, reflecting strong volumes and prices. Nitrogen generated a record $144.2-million of gross margin in the second quarter, 57 per cent higher than last year.
Buoyed by the strength of the solid fertilizer market, phosphate delivered its highest quarterly gross margin ever at $96.8-million, more than triple the $28.9-million in last year's second quarter. |
