Top Corn Fertilizer Maker Sees Profit Plunge as Prices Tumble

(Bloomberg) -- The world’s biggest producer of nitrogen fertilizer used for corn and other crops posted sharply lower quarterly profit and sales as prices tumbled.

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CF Industries Holdings Inc.’s fourth-quarter sales dropped 40% from a year earlier to $1.57 billion, the company reported after the close of US markets on Wednesday. Net income plummeted to $1.44 a share from $4.35, and missed the average analyst estimate of $1.60.

Results have suffered as fertilizer prices dropped from record highs in 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threw global supplies into disarray. CF is optimistic about this year, however, predicting better US agriculture profits as lower grain prices are offset by less costly farm inputs.

“Management expects nitrogen demand in North America for the spring 2024 application season to remain strong,” the company said in a statement.

The contract for spot Tampa anhydrous ammonia, the world benchmark, has fallen 44% in the last 12 months.

Read More: US Farmers Set to See Biggest Income Slump Since 2006 This Year

CF, based in Northbrook, Illinois, projects that 91 million acres of corn will be planted in the US this year. That’s below the average Bloomberg survey forecast of 91.6 million acres, which if realized would be 3 million acres less than last year.

The US Department of Agriculture is set to release its initial 2024-25 estimates at the agency’s annual Outlook Forum on Thursday.

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