CF Industries Sees Revenue Fall, Hurt By Nitrogen Business

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 [e-mail]

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