Dow Jones Newswires | Significantly improved fertilizer demand after an unprecendented decline in 2009 pushed Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan’s earnings to near-record levels for the first quarter and led to a slight upward revision to its 2010 earnings outlook.

The Saskatoon, Sask.-based fertilizer giant earned $449 or $1.47 a share in the latest quarter. The results are the second-highest first-quarter earnings in the company’s history and fall near the top end of its most recent guidance for earnings of $1.30-$1.50 a share. Potash Corp. boosted its first-quarter outlook in March on the back of a sharp rebound in potash demand.

The Thomson Reuters mean estimate was for a profit of $1.32 a share.

Sales of $1.71 billion were well ahead of the $1.48 billion analysts
polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting.

A year ago, the Saskatoon, Sask. company earned $307 million or $1.01 a
share on sales of $923 million.

Gross margin for the quarter more than tripled to $715 million, with
potash accounting for about 72% of the total. EBITDA jumped to $763
million from $291 million.

“With soil-nutrient shortfalls created by nearly 18 months of
substantially reduced fertilizer consumption, farmers began to resume
the more scientifically sound fertilization practices essential to
sustain crop production,” Potash Corp. said. The global economic
downturn significantly hurt potash sales volumes and prices for potash,
phosphate and nitrogen products in 2009.

For 2010, the company is now projecting earnings of $4.50-$5.25 a share,
including $1-$1.30 a share for the second quarter. Potash Corp.
previously said earnings would be in the range of $4-$5 a share for the
year. The Thomson Reuters mean estimate is for earnings of $5.15 a
share.

The company also narrowed its potash segment gross-margin view for 2010
slightly, to a range of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion and puts total
shipments at 7.4-8 million metric tons.

In Toronto Wednesday, Potash Corp. closed at C$109.74, up 1.1%.