(Reuters) — Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan , the world’s biggest fertilizer company by market capitalization, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by strong potash sales and lower costs.
The company’s U.S.-listed shares rose 1.3 percent premarket.
PotashCorp, the second-biggest potash producer by output after Russia’s Uralkali OAO, said on Thursday that improving phosphate market conditions are expected to support better results in 2015.
The company reported a quarterly profit of US 49 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 46 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
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Potash gross margin jumped 95 percent to $445 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.
Revenue rose 23.4 percent to $1.9 billion.
PotashCorp said it expected to sell 9.2 to 9.7 million tonnes of potash in 2015, compared with last year’s 7.1 million tonnes. The company expects global shipments to range between 58 to 60 million tonnes in 2015.
The company said it expected full-year 2015 profit of $1.90 to $2.20 per share. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $2.12 per share.
Rival Mosaic Co. forecast higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit earlier this month, while Canadian fertilizer company Agrium Inc. said it would buy back shares and pay a larger percentage of free cash flow as dividends.
