Boston, MA 05/15/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (USA) (NYSE:POT) declared quarterly dividend on Wednesday. The company’s Board of Directors declared a dividend at the rate of $0.35 per share, which wil paid out on August 1, 2014 to the shareholders appearing on the record as on July 11. 2014.
Profit Plunges; But Results Upbeat
The dividend announcement comes even as the company last reported a steep fall in its first quarter earnings during April. The company’s profit took a sharp cut from the lower prices, but its results came in above its own earlier guidance. The fertilizer unit has been under pressure due to weak demand, and got worse after the company ended marketing alliance with Cartel in Russia. However, the company’s CEO, Bill Doyle, who is about to depart from the company said that the demand is bouncing back.
The Saskatoon-based company noted that its earnings came in at $340-million, or $0.40 a share, in comparison to $0.63 per share in the year ago’s quarter. The adjusted earnings, excluding special items, were at $0.38 per share that came in ahead of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (USA) (NYSE:POT)’s own forecast of $0.30-$0.35 per share. The same stood above the consensus estimate of $0.35 per share. Potash Corp. has now raised the its full-year earnings outlook, which is now US$1.50 to US$1.80 a share.
Prices Bouncing Back
The company said that prices bounced back over the passage of the quarter, but still remained excessively low. The realized potash price was at just $250 a tonne, which is substantially lower than its previous year’s price of $363.Though it is motivating that the low prices will boost the sales to the customers.
As of now, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (USA) (NYSE:POT) maintains that the global potash shipments will come in between 55 to 57 million tonnes for the current year. The numbers are encouraging as compared to the 53.5 million tonnes shipments in 2013, but still does not show enough strength.
