Citi forecasts record Q3 profits for Yara

10 October 2008 12:22  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Yara is on track for record profits in the third quarter according to Citigroup, which on Friday forecasted a four-fold increase in operating profits for the Norwegian fertilizer firm.

 

Citigroup said it expected operating profits for Yara of Norwegian krone (NKr) 4.07bn ($662m, €485m), while earnings per share (EPS) were forecast to reach NKr13.1 compared with NKr5.0 in the third quarter of 2007.

 

Yara has benefitted from soaring nitrogen fertilizer prices, with strong demand driven by short supply as new taxes restricted Chinese urea exports.

 

However, the company's share price has more than halved since June, and Citigroup said it feels profits are at a level not sustainable in the long term.

 

In morning trading, Yara’s stock dropped by nearly 7% from Thursday’s close at about NKr151.00.

 

Yara reports its third quarter results on Friday 17 October.

 

($1 = €0.73, $1 = NKr6.14)

By: Mark Watts
+44 20 8652 3214

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