US CF Q4 profits rise on fertilizer sales, Terra acquisition

18 February 2011 00:18  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--CF Industries’s fourth-quarter net earnings rose to $200.3m (€148.2m) from $51.4m in the same quarter of 2009 on a jump in fertilizer sales and the inclusion of Terra Industries, the company said on Thursday.

Net sales for the quarter ended 31 December was $1.2bn, up 137% from $506.7m in the 2009 fourth-quarter, as a result of the inclusion of Terra net sales of $451.2m, higher nitrogen volumes, especially for ammonia, and higher product prices, the company said.

CF completed its purchase of fertilizer producer Terra in April, 2010. “In the fourth quarter, we benefited from the increased capability of our expanded platform and a host of favourable external factors,” said CF chief executive Stephen Wilson.

Autumn “application of ammonia and phosphates was particularly strong because of increased expected crop plantings, higher application rates, high crop prices, an early harvest and favourable weather in the US midwest”, Wilson said.

For all of fiscal 2010, net earnings fell slightly to $349.2m from $365.6m in 2009. Net sales for the year totalled $4.0bn, up 54% from $2.6bn in 2009. The sales increase resulted mainly from the inclusion of Terra net sales of $1.4bn and higher sales volumes, the company said.

Looking forward, CF said fertilizer markets were expected to remain strong through the spring season, with high crop prices.

“CF Industries expects 92m acres of corn to be planted this spring, up nearly 4m acres from spring of 2010 due to high expected farm profitability and a low stocks-to-use ratio,” the company said. “Across the primary crops, the company expects US farmed area to increase by about 10m, returning to 2008 levels.”

($1 = €0.74)

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