EmailAgrium (AGU $99.75 -7.40) reported third quarter earnings of $1.34 per share, $0.48 worse than the Capital IQ consensus of $1.82. The company issued downside guidance for the fourth quarter with EPS of 1.50-1.90 versus the $2.07 consensus. Retail's 2012 third quarter sales were $1.8-bln, compared with the record third quarter sales of $2.0-bln in the same period last year. The decrease was due to the early season and the severe drought in the U.S., which impacted late-season demand for some crop input products and services as compared to last year's strong third quarter, which resulted from a late spring in 2011. Crop nutrient sales were $634-mln this quarter, compared to $692-mln in Q3 of 2011.
The $58-mln decrease was mainly attributable to a 10% decline in total crop nutrient volumes across our Retail operations, which resulted from the early season as well as dry conditions that impacted fertilizer applications in key growing regions throughout the U.S. North American nutrient volumes were 11% lower this quarter, as compared to the same period last year. Seed sales were $56-mln in Q3 of 2012, compared to $85-mln in Q3 last year. Gross profit was $28-mln this quarter, compared to $30-mln in Q3 of 2011. The decrease in both sales and gross profit was partially due to the early spring season, which pulled Q3 seed sales into the first half of 2012. Dry conditions across much of the U.S. Corn belt also resulted in slightly lower double crop soybean acres, as well as some delayed wheat plantings in the Western Plains states during the third quarter.
