CF Industries Holdings Inc. said quarterly profit spiked due to strong demand for its nitrogen fertilizers, a trend that executives said would only continue in 2011.
The company posted fourth-quarter net income of $200.3 million, or $2.78 per share, compared with $51.4 million, or $1.04 per share, in the year-ago period.
Analysts expected earnings of $2.56 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It was not immediately clear if the numbers were comparable.
Revenue more than doubled to $1.24 billion. Analysts expected $1.19 billion.
CF, based in a Chicago suburb, said it expects roughly 92 million acres of corn to be planted this spring, up approximately 4 million acres from 2010.
The stock slipped $1.81, or more than 1 percent, to $146 per share in after-hours trading. Shares have traded between $57.57 and $153.83 in the past 52 weeks.
