DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) swung to a first-quarter profit absent charges tied to last year's acquisition of rival fertilizer maker Terra as its margins soared on higher volumes and prices.

Shares were recently up 3.3% to $133.50 Thursday. The stock has gained 65% over the past year.

Higher phosphate selling prices and growing demand have boosted sales for the fertilizer producer, which in February affirmed its strong outlook for agriculture as high commodity prices encourage farmers to plant more acres.

Last year's results suffered from a $123 million breakup fee CF Industries paid to take Terra away from rival bidder Yara International ASA (YARIY, YAR.OS), but the acquisition has paid off as the business largely contributed to a 94% jump in overall sales volumes.

"We entered the year with lean inventories," Chairman and Chief Executive Stephen R. Wilson said. "We are pleased that excellent plant performance allowed us to deliver good sales results in the first quarter and to position inventories for the spring selling season."

CF reported a profit of $282 million, or $3.91 a share, compared with a prior-year loss of $4.4 million, or 9 cents a share. The latest quarter included a net gain of $11 million mostly on the sale of warehouses, and prior-year results included $136.1 million in merger-related costs. Revenue more than doubled to $1.17 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a per-share profit of $3.17 on $1.22 billion in revenue.

Gross margin jumped to 44.7% from 25.7%.

Sales in the company's nitrogen segment--its biggest by revenue--almost tripled as volume climbed 41%. Phosphate sales jumped 41%, though volume fell 8.3%.

-By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909; Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com