Mosaic Sees Solid Growth in Fiscal Third-Quarter 2013, as Potash, Phosphate Volumes Improve Globally

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Leading miner and fertilizer producer The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) (Plymouth, Minnesota) reported solid improvement in the third quarter of the company's fiscal year 2013, as the company saw stronger demand in most of its geographic areas and higher potash and phosphate volumes. Net earnings were reported to be $344.6 million, a 26.09% increase from third-quarter 2012.

Total net sales stood at $2.24 billion, a 2.33% increase from the same period last year. Although the third quarter is traditionally slow for Mosaic, the Phosphate segment benefited from lower raw material costs and increased rock production in Florida, as activity ramped up at the South Fort Meade mine. Production at the mine neared record levels during the quarter, reaching 3.6 million tons, up 24% from third-quarter 2012; it is on track to deliver more than 5.5 million tons by the end of the fiscal year. However, the Potash segment suffered from lower realized prices and an unrealized loss on derivatives.

Capital expenditures were reported to be $397.8 million in the fiscal third quarter of 2013, compared with $411.8 million in the same period in 2012.

Industrial Info is tracking more than $5.3 billion in active projects involving Mosaic, including $500 million in upgrades and additions at a potash mine in Colonsay, Saskatchewan. The project, which is the first phase of a $1 billion expansion, involves constructing an additional Mill, debottlenecking existing equipment, and adding process equipment to increase overall capacity by between 500,000 and 800,000 tons per year to 2.1 million to 2.45 million tons per year.

"The quarter played out essentially how we expected it would," said Jim Prokopanko, the president and chief executive officer of Mosaic, in a conference call. "The potash market reopened, with product flowing once again to India and China, and those flows facilitating increased demand in America late in the quarter. At the same time, the phosphate market remained in balance." Both of the company's major segments reported stronger sales volumes, but operating earnings were mixed:

• Phosphate segment net sales were reported to be $1.5 billion, a 9.08% decrease from third-quarter 2012, while operating earnings were reported to be $197 million, a 3.68% increase. Sales volumes stood at 2.64 million tonnes, a 1.97% increase.
• Potash segment net sales were reported to be $758 million, a 37.07% increase from the same period last year, while operating earnings were reported to be $216 million, a 7.69% decrease. Sales volumes stood at 1.5 million tonnes, a 62.33% increase.

Prokopanko said that the long-term economic outlook for Mosaic is "promising," as the global agricultural market is improving, with strengthening commodity prices and declining costs associated with key crops. He expects inventories to be drawn down for the remainder of the spring and the summer as North American dealers prepare for what Mosaic predicts to be a strong application season. Phosphate sales are expected to be between 2.6 million and 2.9 million tons in fourth-quarter 2013, while Potash sales are expected to be between 2.3 million and 2.6 million tons.

"Grain and oilseed prices remain elevated for many reasons; weather conditions and government policy, for example, but none as important as old-fashioned supply and demand," Prokopanko said in the conference call. "In 2012, the world once again produced less grain and oilseeds than it consumed, despite the second-largest global crop on record." He later added, "Demand is on a steady line pointing upwards, and food production has got to keep up. The world's farmers simply cannot feed the population without good crop nutrition."

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.