Nutrien earnings slide 39% in third quarter

Saskatchewan-based Nutrien Ltd. NTR-T reported a 39-per-cent decrease in net earnings in its third-quarter results Wednesday.

The fertilizer giant reported profit of US$288-million compared with US$469-million in the same period last year, a decline primarily driven by underperformance in its phosphate and nitrogen divisions.

Net earnings per share fell 37 per cent from 97 US cents to 61 US cents, falling short of projections of US$1.06, according to estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ.

Net sales in the company’s nitrogen division fell 6 per cent and the cost of goods increased 8 per cent compared with the same period last year. Nutrien’s shutdown of the company’s facility in Trinidad contributed to these costs.

On Oct. 5 the company announced the indefinite closure of its Trinidad Nitrogen operations on Oct. 5, citing ongoing natural gas constraints. The facility had been shut down on a temporary basis since October 2025.

Net sales in phosphate climbed 4 per cent to $514-million from $495-million in the third quarter of 2025, but the cost of goods rose 29 per cent due to higher sulphur costs. Sulphur is an essential input in phosphate production. Prices have surged to near record levels this year, driven by constraints around the Strait of Hormuz through which a substantial volume of sulphur trade is shipped.

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Nutrien announced that it would shutter operations at its White Springs phosphate facility in Florida in the second quarter of 2027 as part of a broad review of the division. The company has received a number of non-binding bids for the division but decided the proposals did not reflect the long-term value of the assets, according to the earnings report. Its North Carolina-based Aurora facility will continue to operate.

Nutrien’s legacy potash division recorded a unchanged net sales in the third quarter of 2026 compared with 2025. The division reported high potash sales in the first six months of the year that drove an overall 9-per-cent growth in sales across the nine months ending Sept. 30. The company also reported a 10-per-cent climb in gross margins during this period.

Nutrien has increased its potash sales guidance to 14.8 million tonnes from 14.3 tonnes due to continuing strong global demand driven by farmer forecasts of high crop prices in 2027. The company has maintained its forecast for global potash shipments of 74 to 77 million tonnes in 2026, in line with consumption trends.