By Cassandra Jaramillo
CF Industries Holdings Inc. said Wednesday that its
second-quarter revenue fell 10.9% as the fertilizer maker was hurt
by lower nitrogen product sales, though results were in-line with
estimates.
For the third quarter, CF Industries said that it had "an
excellent order book" for ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate.
Shares of CF Industries, up 23% over the past 12 months, rose
1.5% to $62.52 in after-hours trading.
CF Industries operates nitrogen-manufacturing complexes in the
central U.S. and Canada, and distributes plant nutrients through a
system of terminals, warehouses and associated transportation
equipment located primarily in the Midwestern U.S.
The Wall Street Journal reported in July CF Industries was in
talks with Dutch peer OCI NV about a potential merger with some of
OCI's businesses. OCI produces nitrogen fertilizers, methanol and
other natural gas-based products, serving agricultural and
industrial customers from the Americas to Asia.
The fertilizer company had faced challenges with weather slowing
purchasing activity in previous quarters, but said on Wednesday
that nitrogen demand was expected to be steady thanks to an
estimated 89 million acres of corn being planted.
Natural gas is the biggest raw-material cost for making
anhydrous ammonia, the base fertilizer made by CF Industries and
used by farmers of corn and other crops. CF Industries benefited
from sharp declines in the price of natural gas, as it said it saw
the cost of natural gas fall 36.3% from a year earlier.
Overall, CF Industries reported a profit of $351.9 million or
$1.49 a share, up from $312.6 million, or $1.22 a share, a year
earlier.
Revenue decreased 10.9% to $1.31 billion from $1.47 billion. The
company said it saw lower sales volume for all products and lower
average realized prices across all segments except ammonia.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of
$1.49 and revenue of $1.31 billion.
Write to Cassandra Jaramillo at cassandra.jaramillo@wsj.com
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