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CF Industries' (CF) Earnings & Sales Miss Estimates in Q1
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CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF - Free Report) delivered profits of $90 million or 40 cents per share in the first quarter of 2019, up from $63 million or 27 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share came in at 27 cents that missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 28 cents.
Net sales rose 4.6% year over year to $1,001 million in the quarter, mainly driven by higher average selling prices for urea ammonium nitrate (“UAN”), granular urea and ammonium nitrate (“AN”). However, the figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,016 million.
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Net sales in the Ammonia segment declined roughly 11.8% year over year to $187 million in the quarter. Ammonia sales volumes fell 8.7% year over year to 606,000 tons. Average selling prices of ammonia fell roughly 3.1% year over year to $309 per ton.
Sales in the Granular Urea segment rose roughly 29.9% year over year to $343 million. Sales volumes increased around 20.6% year over year to 1,184,000 tons. Average selling prices for granular urea rose 7.8% year over year to $290 per ton.
Sales in the UAN segment went down around 9.5% year over year to $256 million. UAN sales volume fell 24% year over year to 1,268,000 tons in the quarter. Average selling prices rose roughly 18.8% year over year to $202 per ton.
Sales in the AN segment rose around 27% year over year to $127 million. Sales volumes rose around 20.1% to 501,000 tons. Average selling prices increased 5.4% year over year to $253 per ton.
Financials
CF Industries ended the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $671 million, down roughly 28.3% year over year. Long-term debt was $4,700 million in the reported quarter.
Cash flow from operation was $306 million, up 8.5% year over year. The company repurchased roughly 1.5 million shares under the earlier announced $1.5-billion share repurchase plan authorized through 2021.
Outlook
CF Industries expects strong nitrogen fertilizer demand in North America during the first half of 2019. Cold and wet weather affected first-quarter results and persisted in the second quarter, which delayed spring fertilizer applications throughout North America.
Per the company, throughout the first quarter and into May, weather conditions caused considerable disruptions to rail and barge transportation. It anticipates the logistical challenges to support strong in-region nitrogen pricing in the spring application season.
The company projects net urea exports from China in 2019 will be in line with 2018 levels. Demand for urea from Brazil and India is likely to support the global market. Urea imports to Brazil are expected to increase for 2019 due to the closure of two Petrobras urea plants.
Price Performance
Shares of CF Industries have gained 10.8% in the past year compared with the industry’s 1.4% rise.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
CF Industries currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (SAND - Free Report) , Flexible Solutions International Inc (FSI - Free Report) and Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS - Free Report) .
Sandstorm Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 200% for the current year and sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company’s shares have gained around 9.2% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Flexible Solutions has an expected earnings growth rate of 171.4% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its shares have surged roughly 100% in the past year.
Reliance Steel has an expected earnings growth rate of 2.4% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its shares have gained around 3.1% in the past year.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-holds for the year?
Who wouldn't? Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity. In 2018, while the market dropped -5.2%, the portfolio scored well into double-digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as +61.5%. And from 2012-2017, while the market boomed +126.3, Zacks' Top 10s reached an even more sensational +181.9%.
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CF Industries' (CF) Earnings & Sales Miss Estimates in Q1
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF - Free Report) delivered profits of $90 million or 40 cents per share in the first quarter of 2019, up from $63 million or 27 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share came in at 27 cents that missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 28 cents.
Net sales rose 4.6% year over year to $1,001 million in the quarter, mainly driven by higher average selling prices for urea ammonium nitrate (“UAN”), granular urea and ammonium nitrate (“AN”). However, the figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,016 million.
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | CF Industries Holdings, Inc. Quote
Segment Review
Net sales in the Ammonia segment declined roughly 11.8% year over year to $187 million in the quarter. Ammonia sales volumes fell 8.7% year over year to 606,000 tons. Average selling prices of ammonia fell roughly 3.1% year over year to $309 per ton.
Sales in the Granular Urea segment rose roughly 29.9% year over year to $343 million. Sales volumes increased around 20.6% year over year to 1,184,000 tons. Average selling prices for granular urea rose 7.8% year over year to $290 per ton.
Sales in the UAN segment went down around 9.5% year over year to $256 million. UAN sales volume fell 24% year over year to 1,268,000 tons in the quarter. Average selling prices rose roughly 18.8% year over year to $202 per ton.
Sales in the AN segment rose around 27% year over year to $127 million. Sales volumes rose around 20.1% to 501,000 tons. Average selling prices increased 5.4% year over year to $253 per ton.
Financials
CF Industries ended the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $671 million, down roughly 28.3% year over year. Long-term debt was $4,700 million in the reported quarter.
Cash flow from operation was $306 million, up 8.5% year over year. The company repurchased roughly 1.5 million shares under the earlier announced $1.5-billion share repurchase plan authorized through 2021.
Outlook
CF Industries expects strong nitrogen fertilizer demand in North America during the first half of 2019. Cold and wet weather affected first-quarter results and persisted in the second quarter, which delayed spring fertilizer applications throughout North America.
Per the company, throughout the first quarter and into May, weather conditions caused considerable disruptions to rail and barge transportation. It anticipates the logistical challenges to support strong in-region nitrogen pricing in the spring application season.
The company projects net urea exports from China in 2019 will be in line with 2018 levels. Demand for urea from Brazil and India is likely to support the global market. Urea imports to Brazil are expected to increase for 2019 due to the closure of two Petrobras urea plants.
Price Performance
Shares of CF Industries have gained 10.8% in the past year compared with the industry’s 1.4% rise.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
CF Industries currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (SAND - Free Report) , Flexible Solutions International Inc (FSI - Free Report) and Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS - Free Report) .
Sandstorm Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 200% for the current year and sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company’s shares have gained around 9.2% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Flexible Solutions has an expected earnings growth rate of 171.4% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its shares have surged roughly 100% in the past year.
Reliance Steel has an expected earnings growth rate of 2.4% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its shares have gained around 3.1% in the past year.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-holds for the year?
Who wouldn't? Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity. In 2018, while the market dropped -5.2%, the portfolio scored well into double-digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as +61.5%. And from 2012-2017, while the market boomed +126.3, Zacks' Top 10s reached an even more sensational +181.9%.
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