May 1 (Reuters) - Mosaic Co ( MOS ) narrowly missed Wall
Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, weighed
down by lower prices for its fertilizer products.
The firm also said its Colonsay potash mine in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, will remain idle until "market conditions
improve", after it had curtailed production due to a drop in
prices in the October-December quarter.
Mosaic's selling price for potash fell to $241 per tonne in
the quarter from $421 per tonne a year earlier, while phosphate
prices fell 9.4% to $598 per tonne.
Crop prices have declined from their 2022 peaks, when
they soared following the war in Ukraine. Droughts in Brazil,
one of the top producers of soybean and corn, also resulted in
lower application of crop nutrients.
The company expects potash sales volumes of 2.2 million to
2.4 million tonnes in the second quarter, and phosphate sales
volumes of 1.6 million to 1.8 million tonnes.
The fertilizer supplier also said its Riverview facility in
Hillsborough County, Florida, is back to full capacity after a
brushfire caused limited damage to ancillary operations last
month.
On an adjusted basis, the Tampa, Florida-based company said
it earned 65 cents per share in the first quarter, compared with
analysts' estimates of 66 cents, according to data from LSEG.