TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – A surprisingly swift fourth-quarter slowdown in fertiliser markets ate into Potash Corp earnings for the period which, at $683-million, was 34% higher than for the same period in 2010, but well below analyst expectations.

Potash demand in North America was particular poor for the last three months of the year, prompting the company to pause production at some of its mines.

But the jolt in the fourth quarter was still not enough to prevent Potash Corp from reporting its second-highest full-year profit yet, at $3.1-billion – an 80% increase on the number for 2010.

According to Reuters, analysts had expected the company to report per-share earnings for the final quarter of $0.88, compared with the $0.78 it came out with, signalling the demand drop-off was sharper than expected.

Potash Corp said it sold 1.6-million tons of its namesake fertiliser ingredients in the last quarter of the year, which was well short of the 2.4-million tons it sold in the same period the prior year.

North American potash customers were “especially cautious”, as our shipments for the last three months of the year fell 50% year-on-year to 0.4-million tons, the company said.

CEO Bill Doyle said the company was still bullish on its prospects, understanding “the necessity of looking beyond short-term market fluctuations and preparing for the long-term growth that typically follows”.

“We believe these short-term challenges do not change the more powerful drivers of our business,” he said.
 

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