May 1 (Reuters) - Fertilizer maker CF Industries ( CF )

reported lower-than-expected first-quarter profit on Wednesday,

hurt by eased prices and a hit to ammonia production due to

outages.

The world's top ammonia producer said plant outages reduced

the ammonia available to produce higher-margin upgraded

fertilizer products. Ammonia is a key input for nitrogen-based

fertilizer.

"(We) faced a challenging quarter as severe cold in

January and some unplanned maintenance disrupted our network

significantly," CEO Tony Will said in a statement.

The company's ammonia production volumes fell about 13%

in the quarter.

Average selling prices for the first quarter were also

lower as weak global energy costs reduced the market-clearing

price required to meet worldwide demand

Fertilizer prices have retreated, tracking lower energy

prices on supply concerns following Russia's invasion of

Ukraine.

The company's net sales declined 27%, to $1.47 billion,

compared with $2.01 billion in the year-ago quarter.

It saw lower cost of sales in the quarter due to

decreased realized natural gas costs, but these were offset by

higher maintenance costs.

The Northbrook, Illinois-based company reported adjusted

earnings of 90 cents per share, compared to estimates of $1.52

per share, according to LSEG data.