Nutrien Ltd. NTR recorded third-quarter 2024 profit of $25 million or 4 cents per share, down from $82 million or 15 cents in the year-ago quarter. Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were 39 cents. The bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents.
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Sales fell around 5% year over year to $5,348 million in the quarter. The figure lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,362.9 million.
The company's financial performance was adversely impacted by lower net realized selling prices in the Potash unit and decreased earnings from the Retail unit.
Nutrien Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Nutrien Ltd. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Nutrien Ltd. Quote
NTR’s Segment Highlights
Sales in the Nutrien Ag Solutions (Retail) segment declined 6% year over year to $3,271 million in the quarter. The figure outpaced our estimate of $3,174.5 million. Retail adjusted EBITDA decreased in the third quarter of 2024, owing to reduced crop nutrient sales volumes in North America and lower seed margins in Brazil. Adjusted EBITDA rose in the first nine months of the year, driven by better product margins in North America.
Potash division’s sales declined 9% year over year to $884 million, missing our estimate of $975.7 million. Potash adjusted EBITDA fell in the third quarter and first nine months of 2024 due to lower net selling prices, partly offset by record sales volumes. Higher potash output and continuous advancements in mine automation contributed to lower controllable cash costs of products produced in the first nine months of 2024.
Sales in the Nitrogen segment were $793 million, up around 10% year over year. The reported figure topped our estimate of $739.2 million. Nitrogen adjusted EBITDA rose in the third quarter of 2024, mostly owing to higher net selling prices. Adjusted EBITDA fell in the first nine months, as lower net selling prices more than offset lower natural gas costs and higher sales volumes.
Sales in the Phosphate segment were $412 million, down around 7% year over year. The figure beat our estimate of $345.1 million. Phosphate adjusted EBITDA remained constant in the quarter, with increased net selling prices offset by reduced sales volumes and higher input costs. Adjusted EBITDA fell in the first nine months, as lower net selling prices more than offset stronger sales volumes and lower costs.
NTR’s Financials
At the end of the quarter, Nutrien had cash and cash equivalents of $520 million, down around 6.1% year over year. Long-term debt was $9,383 million, falling 0.4%.
Cash used in operating activities was $908 million in the reported quarter.
NTR’s Guidance
NTR lowered Retail adjusted EBITDA projection to $1.5-$1.6 billion due to improved growing conditions in North America, which resulted in lesser pest pressure and field activity in the third quarter.
Potash sales volume projection was increased to 13.5-13.9 million tons due to ongoing strong worldwide demand. The range incorporates fourth-quarter maintenance downtime and the anticipation of a short-term labor disruption at the Port of Vancouver.
Nitrogen sales volume projection has been reduced to 10.6-10.8 million tons due to extended turnarounds and unforeseen outages in the third quarter, including the impact of weather-related occurrences.
NTR maintained its capital expenditures guidance for 2024 of $2.2-$2.3 billion and expects capital expenditures in a range of $2-$2.1 billion for 2025.
NTR’s Price Performance
Nutrien’s shares have lost 19.6% in the past year compared with a 16.7% decline of the industry.
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NTR's Zacks Rank & Other Basic Materials Releases
NTR currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
CF Industries Holdings Inc. CF logged earnings of $1.55 per share in the third quarter, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.05. CF anticipates the global supply-demand balance to remain constructive, as inventories are believed to be below average globally while energy spreads remain significant between North America and high-cost production in Europe.
ICL Group Ltd ICL recorded adjusted earnings of 11 cents per share for the third quarter, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 8 cents. ICL raised its guidance for full-year 2024.
PPG Industries, Inc. PPG logged third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.13, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.15. PPG anticipates flat organic sales and adjusted earnings per share at the bottom end of the $8.15 to $8.30 range for full-year 2024.
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