Canadian fertilizer maker Nutrien Ltd on Monday narrowed its full-year profit forecast and said it has seen an improvement in market conditions globally, helped by higher crop and fertilizer prices.
The Saskatchewan-based company, the world’s biggest fertilizer maker by capacity, also posted a net loss for the third quarter, hurt by an impairment charge of $823 million.
The company said it now expects 2020 adjusted net earnings to fall in the range of $1.60 to $1.85 per share, compared with its previous forecast of $1.50 to $1.90 per share.
Nutrien lowered the top-end of its full-year forecast for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to $3.5 to $3.7 billion, from $3.5 to $3.8 billion.
The company posted a net loss of $587 million, or $1.03 per share, for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $141 million, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier.
The impairment charge was related to a less favorable long-term outlook for phosphate prices and expected global supply imbalance, the company said.
Rival Mosaic Co on Monday reported a quarterly adjusted profit of 23 cents per share, beating analysts' average estimate of 17 cents per share, helped by higher gross margins.
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