Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Nutrien's (NTR) Q2 Earnings Lag Estimates, Revenues Beat

Read MoreHide Full Article

Nutrien Ltd. (NTR - Free Report) recorded second-quarter 2023 profits of $448 million or 89 cents per share, down from $3,601 million or $6.51 in the year-ago quarter.

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were $2.53. The bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.83.

Sales plunged around 19.7% year over year to $11,654 million in the quarter. The figure, however, surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11,179.7 million.

The company results were adversely impacted by the unprecedented volatility in global crop input markets over the past 18 months. It, however, saw strong demand in its major markets, particularly North America.

Nutrien Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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 3% year over year to $9,128 million in the quarter. The decline in the second quarter was primarily due to a 12% fall in crop nutrients sales on lower selling prices across all regions compared to the strong periods in 2022. The figure was higher than our estimate of $6,500.8 million.

Potash division’s sales declined 59% year over year to $1,116 million, lower than our estimate of $2,488.8 million.  Sales volumes declined in the second quarter. Offshore sales volumes decreased in the quarter due to reduced shipments to customers in Asia, partly offset by record first-half Canpotex sales volumes to Brazil.

Sales in the Nitrogen segment were $1,371 million, down around 42% year over year. The decline was due to lower net realized selling price in the second quarter for all major nitrogen products, mainly due to weaker benchmark prices resulting from lower energy prices in key nitrogen-producing regions. The reported figure is lower than our estimate of $1,901.3 million.

Sales in the Phosphate segment were $560 million, down around 13% year over year, affected by the decrease in net realized selling price in the second quarter. The figure is lower than our estimate of $846.7 million.

Financials

At the end of the quarter, Nutrien had cash and cash equivalents of $737 million, up around 3.7% year over year. Long-term debt was $9,498 million, up roughly 35% year over year.

Cash provided by operating activities was $2,243 million in the reported quarter, down around 12% year over year.

Guidance

The company now expects adjusted EBITDA of $5.5-$6.7 billion for full-year 2023. Adjusted EPS has been forecast in the band of $3.85-$5.60 per share. Nutrien expects cash provided by operations of $4.4-$4.9 billion, suggesting lower earnings expectations.

Price Performance

Nutrien’s shares have lost 23.5% in the past year compared with a 25.9% decline of the industry.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Nutrien currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Better-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include PPG Industries Inc. (PPG - Free Report) , ATI Inc. (ATI - Free Report) and Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS - Free Report) .

PPG, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has an expected earnings growth rate of 20.8% for the current fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PPG's earnings for the current fiscal year has been revised 1.6% upward in the past 60 days. It delivered an earnings surprise of 7.3% each of the trailing four quarters, on average. PPG has gained around 9.6% over a year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

ATI, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has a projected earnings growth rate of 13.1% for the current year. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 13%, on average. ATI shares are up around 51% in a year.

CRS, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #1, has a projected earnings growth rate of 198.11% for the current year. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 30.9%, on average. CRS shares are up around 73.3% in a year.

 

Published in