“Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world’s largest fertilizer producer, cut its 2012 earnings forecast because of reduced sales to China and India as it reported third-quarter profit in line with analysts’ estimates.
Profit this year excluding an impairment charge related to an investment in Sinofert Holdings Ltd. (297) will be $2.40 to $2.60 a share, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based company said today in a statement. Potash Corp. said on Oct. 17 that full-year results are expected to fall below its previous guidance of $2.80 to $3.20 a share. Analysts projected a profit of $3.04 a share, the average of 27 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Higher-than-average North American inventories are impairing the ability of Potash Corp. and other miners to secure new supply contracts in China and India, Matthew Korn, a New York-based analyst for Barclays Plc, said in an Oct. 17 note. Sales of potash, a crop nutrient that helps strengthen plant roots and improve resistance to drought, generated 64 percent of the company’s gross profit last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.”
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