Nutrien misses profit estimates amid higher fertilizer prices

By Sourasis Bose

(Reuters) -Canadian fertilizer maker Nutrien Ltd on Wednesday forecast lower-than-expected 2023 earnings and posted fourth-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates, sending shares down 2.6% in extended trading.

While higher fertilizer prices dented demand in early second-half of last year, a fall in prices later in the year did not boost demand as farmers further awaited pricing trends to stabilize. Nutrien also said there was a "historic decline" in potash shipments in the second half of 2022.

"Growers are hesitant to step into the market with falling fertilizer prices," Jason Newton, chief economist and head of market research at Nutrien, told Reuters.

Newton, however, expects the reduced fertilizer prices and strong crop prices to support demand as spring arrives.

The company forecast 2023 adjusted earnings in the range of $8.45 to $10.65 per share, compared with analysts' estimate of $11.62 per share.

Excluding items, it reported earnings of $2.02 per share for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.62 per share, according to Refinitiv data.

The company also raised its dividend by 10.4% to 53 cents per share and said its plans to reduce its share-count by 5%.

Its peer CF Industries Holdings Inc also reported lower sales, and said global nitrogen availability loosened in the fourth quarter with weak industrial demand in Europe being one of the reasons.

Yet, higher fertilizer prices helped the company post fourth-quarter net earnings of $860 million or $4.35 per share, compared with $705 million or $3.27 per share, a year ago.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Uttaresh.V)