(Reuters) - Potash Corp
Those two countries, along with the United States and Brazil, are the world's biggest importers of Canadian potash. They buy the crop nutrient through contracts that are generally renewed annually at prices that are used as a benchmark for spot sales.
"(Producers) set the potash price too high, the buyers can't afford it and there's demand destruction going on," said analyst Robert Winslow of National Bank Financial. "You can't have it both ways - high demand and high pricing - so they're paying the price for it."
Winslow has an "underperform" rating on shares of Potash Corp and holds a Street-low price target on the U.S.-listed stock of $37.
The weakening rupee and a cut in government fertilizer subsidies have made potash more expensive for Indian farmers, contributing to a stockpile of potash among North American producers.
China is seen as amply supplied with potash for now, leaving it in no hurry to sign contracts.
Potash Corp, Mosaic Co
The cut by Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Potash in its earnings forecast on Wednesday follows a cut it made in July, largely to reflect the impact of an impairment charge. On Wednesday, the company said its full-year earnings would be less than $2.80 per share. In July, it forecast $2.80 to $3.20 a share.
Third-quarter profit is expected to be at the low end of a range of 70 cents to 90 cents a share, the company said. Analysts had expected 83 cents per share.
"This bad news should already be (reflected) in the stock," analyst Vincent Andrews of Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients.
Shares of Potash Corp rose nearly 1 percent to close at $41.99 in New York, recovering from a 4 percent premarket drop on the news of the lowered outlook. In Toronto, they closed at $41.12, up 2 Canadian cents.
PRICE BREAKS, PRODUCTION CUTS SEEN
North American prices at the Port of Vancouver, the main Canadian port for potash exports, hovered under $500 in September, according to market data released by Potash Corp on Monday. China paid $470 per metric ton (1.1023 tons) and India bought potash for between $490 and $530 per tonne under previous contracts with Canpotex, and both are in line for reductions, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Edlain Rodriguez said.
Potash Corp also said Wednesday it would shut two potash mines for eight weeks, to try to match supply to demand.
The company's biggest mine, at Lanigan, Saskatchewan, will close between November 18 and January 12, while the Rocanville, Saskatchewan, mine will be shut from December 2 to January 26.
The mines have annual operating capacity of 3.3 million tonnes and 2.7 million tonnes respectively.
Potash Corp temporarily shut down Lanigan for about a month this autumn to reduce its stockpile, but inventories of North American producers were still 39 percent larger than the five-year average in September.
"With India and China still out of the market and prices under pressure, it's going to be a real challenge in the medium term," Rodriguez said. "The magnitude (of Potash's forecast reduction) might be a little higher than expected, but I don't think it's a big surprise that numbers had to come down."
Indian fertilizer buyers are unlikely to agree to new potash contracts until December at the earliest, the head of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative (IFFCO), one of India's biggest fertilizer makers, said last week.
(Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Maureen Bavdek and; Peter Galloway)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/potash-corp-temporarily-shut-mines-demand-wanes-190711621--finance.html
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