Nutrien's (NTR) Q3 Earnings and Revenues Miss Estimates
Nutrien Ltd. NTR recorded third-quarter 2023 profits of $82 million or 15 cents per share, down from $1,583 million or $2.94 in the year-ago quarter.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were 35 cents. The bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 71 cents.
Sales plunged around 31% year over year to $5,631 million in the quarter. The figure lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5,680.4 million.
The company's financial performance was impacted by lower net realized selling prices across all business segments and decreased earnings from the Retail unit.
Nutrien Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Nutrien Ltd. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Nutrien Ltd. Quote
Segment Highlights
Sales in the Nutrien Ag Solutions (Retail) segment declined 12% year over year to $3,490 million in the quarter. The decline in the third quarter was primarily due to a 22% fall in crop nutrient sales on lower selling prices across all regions compared with the strong periods in 2022. The figure was higher than our estimate of $3,273.5 million.
Potash division’s sales declined 51% year over year to $972 million, lower than our estimate of $1,195.3 million. The third quarter witnessed the highest sales volumes ever recorded, primarily fueled by robust demand in North America and Brazil. Offshore sales volumes saw a decline during the same period due to logistical difficulties at Canpotex's West Coast port facilities and reduced shipments to customers in India and Southeast Asia. This decline was partially offset by record sales volumes of Canpotex to Brazil.
Sales in the Nitrogen segment were $659 million, down around 57% year over year. The decline was due to lower net realized selling price in the third quarter for all major nitrogen products, which more than offset lower natural gas costs. The reported figure is lower than our estimate of $1,184.4 million.
Sales in the Phosphate segment were $382 million, down around 33% year over year, affected by the decrease in net realized selling price for fertilizer products, partially offset by lower ammonia and sulfur input costs. The figure was higher than our estimate of $274 million.
Financials
At the end of the quarter, Nutrien had cash and cash equivalents of $554 million, down around 32.7% year over year. Long-term debt was $9,427 million, up roughly 34.3% year over year.
Cash used by operating activities was $469 million in the reported quarter.
Guidance
The company now expects adjusted EBITDA of $5.8-$6.4 billion for full year 2023. Adjusted EPS has been forecast in the band of $4.15-$5.00 per share. Nutrien expects cash provided by operations of $4-$4.5 billionand capital expenditures of about $2.7 billion.
Price Performance
Nutrien’s shares have lost 34.7% in the past year compared with a 37.4% decline of the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Nutrien currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are The Andersons Inc. ANDE and Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and Linde plc LIN, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ANDE's current-year earnings has been revised 3.3% upward in the past 60 days. Andersons beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 64.4% on average. ANDE shares have rallied around 38.9% in a year.
The consensus estimate for CRS’s current fiscal year earnings is pegged at $3.57, indicating year-over-year growth of 213.2%. CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 14.3%. The company’s shares have surged 82.2% in the past year.
The consensus estimate for Linde’s current fiscal year earnings is pegged at $14.08, indicating year-over-year growth of 14.6%. LIN beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 5.7%. The company’s shares have rallied 31.5% in the past year.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The Andersons, Inc. (ANDE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Linde PLC (LIN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Nutrien Ltd. (NTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
