CVR Partners' (UAN) Q1 Earnings Lag Estimates, Sales Fall

CVR Partners, LP UAN posted a loss of $19 million or 17 cents per share in the first quarter of 2018, wider than a loss of $10 million or 9 cents per share it logged a year ago. The reported loss per share was also wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 13 cents.

CVR Partners raked in net sales of $80 million, down around 5.9% year over year.  

The company’s Coffeyville fertilizer plant performed well during the quarter, recording on-stream rates of 100% for gasification, 99.2% for urea ammonium nitrate (“UAN”) and 99.8% for ammonia.

CVR Partners, LP Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

CVR Partners, LP Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | CVR Partners, LP Quote

Operational Statistics

CVR Partners produced 199,000 tons of ammonia in the first quarter, of which, 59,000 net tons were available for sale while the rest was upgraded to other fertilizers including 339,000 tons of UAN.

In the reported quarter, consolidated average realized gate prices for UAN and ammonia were $153 and $322 per ton, respectively, down 4.3% and up 4.5% year over year.

Financials

CVR Partners ended the first quarter of 2018 with cash and cash equivalents of $61.1 million, down around 25% year over year. Total debt slightly increased to $626.6 million in the quarter from $623.8 million a year ago.

Outlook

CVR Partners noted that lingering winter temperatures and late snowfall delayed the start of the spring planting season. However, the company continues to expect a strong application period with robust demand on the back of below normal levels of customer inventory and a projected 88 million planted corn acres.

Price Performance

Shares of CVR Partners have lost 13.8% in the past three months, underperforming the industry’s 3.7% decline.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

CVR Partners currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD, Univar Inc. UNVR and Kronos Worldwide Inc. KRO, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Steel Dynamics has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 12%. Its shares have soared 27.7% over a year.

Univar has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 9%. Its shares have rallied 59.4% over a year.

Kronos has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 5%. Its shares have surged 35.3% over a year.

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>
 

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Kronos Worldwide Inc (KRO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Univar Inc. (UNVR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
CVR Partners, LP (UAN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research