- Potash (POT) -1.3% premarket after reporting a 45% Y/Y drop in Q3 earnings as plunging nutrient prices, poor sales volumes and general market uncertainty took a huge toll.
- Q3 average realized potash price was $307/metric ton vs. $429 in the year-ago quarter; Uralkali warned that prices could fall to $300 when it broke off its partnership with Belaruskali, and it appears that has already happened.
- Gross profit on potash fell to $228M in Q3 from $554M; sales volumes fell by nearly 500K metric tons.
- The bad news is not limited to potash, as nitrogen gross profit fell to $178M from $251M a year ago, sales volume rose slightly but the realized price fell to $327/metric ton from $458 a year ago.
- Phosphate sales volume fell only slightly, but net sales totaled $432M vs. $513M a year ago, and the realized price fell to $467 from $537/metric ton.
- Cut full-year EPS guidance to $2.00-$2.20 from $2.45-$2.70, below $2.25 analyst consensus.