PotashCorp Reports Record First-Quarter Earnings On Stronger Prices And Volumes

    Symbol: POT
    Listed: TSX, NYSE

SASKATOON, April 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (PotashCorp) today reported record first-quarter earnings of $0.84 per share(1) ( $732 million), 71 percent above the $0.49 per share ( $444 million) earned in the same period last year. Strong demand and improved prices for all three nutrients resulted in record first-quarter gross margin of $1.1 billion, significantly above the $729 million earned in last year's first quarter. Earnings before finance costs, income taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)(2) of $1.1 billion and cash flow prior to working capital changes(2) of $899 million substantially exceeded the first-quarter 2010 totals of $776 million and $633 million, respectively.

Fueled by strong fertilizer market conditions, our strategic offshore investments in Arab Potash Company Ltd. (APC) in Jordan and Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) in Chile added $51 million to operating income in the quarter, nearly double the $26 million contribution for the same period last year. The market value of our investments in these publicly traded companies, together with our positions in Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) in Israel and Sinofert Holdings Limited (Sinofert) in China, was $10.3 billion as of market close on April 27, 2011, equating to approximately $12 per PotashCorp share.

"Tight global grain inventories, strong crop returns and the need to address nutrient deficiencies are powerful motivators for the world's farmers, and the impact was evident in our record first-quarter results," said PotashCorp President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Doyle. "Robust demand for all three nutrients demonstrated a global push to improve crop yields and reflected the importance of fertilizer to food production. This is especially true of potash and, as higher prices for our core nutrient continued to take hold, we began to demonstrate the earnings potential of our company."

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ... Next › Last »