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October 2009

Ally

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News articles for October 2009.
 

Ally

Research Assistant
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Mar 24, 2009
Messages
16,743
Potash Corp. profit drives 80% on low demand

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. announced Thursday an 80% drop in third-quarter profit, blamed on farmers and fertilizer buyers worldwide continuing to delay their purchases due to economic uncertainty.

The company (POT/TSX) said profit for the quarter ended Sept. 30 plummeted to US$248.8-million (82 cents a share) from US$1.24-billion (US$3.93) at the same time last year.

Gross margins for the quarter came in at US$346.2-million, down 80% from US$1.74-billion in the third quarter of 2008.

"Even though the science of food production and fundamentals of global development dictate that more fertilizer, especially potash, is needed around the world, the impact of the global financial crisis remained a difficult hurdle in the third quarter," Bill Doyle, chief executive of PotashCorp, said in a release. "The uncertainty among fertilizer buyers has lasted far longer than we anticipated."

North American potash shipment volumes were down more than 50% in the third quarter and year-to-date totals are down almost 70% compared with 2008.

Read the full article here.
 

Ally

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Potash Price plummet hits Agrium sales

The stalemate between farmers and fertilizer producers has claimed another victim.

Agrium Inc. became the latest fertilizer company to cut its guidance yesterday after acknowledging that nutrient prices and margins are weaker than expected.

The company warned that third-quarter earnings will be a whopping 90% to 95% lower than the same quarter last year, when it made a record US$367-million, or US$2.31 a share.

"We expected nutrient margins to improve a little faster than they did," Bruce Waterman, chief financial officer, said in an interview.

It came just a day after Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. reported a 79% drop in Q3 earnings and said its full-year profit would be at the low end of its already-reduced guidance.

Read the full article here.
 
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