Agrium Inc. Announces Guidance For Second Half Of 2014, Shares Move Lower

After market close on Wednesday, Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) updated the investment community with management's expectations for the second half of 2014.

Agrium expects its earnings from continuing operations to be in a range of $0.45 to $0.55 for the third quarter, while fourth quarter earnings from continuing operations will be “similar to net earnings” in the fourth quarter 2013.

Agrium is a major retail supplier of agricultural products and services and a leading global wholesale producer and marketer of all three major agricultural nutrients.

Agrium expects its EBITDA contribution from wholesale operations in the second half of 2014 to be “similar to last year's results.” The company expects stronger nitrogen results to offset the financial impact of downtime associated with major turnarounds, particularly in its Vanscoy potash facility.

Retail EBITDA is expected to be “in-line with the record EBITDA achieved in the same period last year” despite lower grain prices and lower crop protection product sales.

Agrium plans to provide further guidance during its third quarter results on November 4.

Shares of Agrium were trading lower by four percent Thursday. Shares of other fertilizer stocks were mixed in the pre-market session.