Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. News
PotashCorp Surpasses Previous Quarterly Earnings Record by Over 60 Percent
Listed: TSX, NYSE
Symbol: POT
Cash flow from operating activities prior to working capital changes(2) reached
This strong performance was enhanced by our offshore investments in Arab Potash Company Ltd. (APC) in
"This quarter established a new standard of performance for our company," said PotashCorp President and Chief Executive Officer
Market Conditions
Fertilizer demand remained strong, fuelled by the global need to increase food production and by supportive crop commodity prices. Corn prices in the second quarter were up more than 60 percent from the same period last year, while soybean prices were almost double. This is providing farmers with record income and significant motivation to increase acreage planted and yields.
The resulting tight fertilizer supply/demand fundamentals impacted all three nutrients in the quarter, and were clearly evident in higher product prices. First, in potash, inventories were reduced to historically low levels around the world. For example, reported North American producer inventories were 41 percent below the previous five-year average at the end of June, an extremely low level given upcoming summer maintenance shutdowns. Global demand remains unsatisfied, even without considering the protracted contract settlements that left
Global nitrogen and phosphate supply was impacted in the second quarter by
Phosphate producers without an integrated supply of phosphate rock continued to be affected by rising costs for key inputs. The price of rock from
Potash
Quarterly potash gross margin of
As demand continued to exceed available supply in the quarter, PotashCorp and Canpotex, the offshore marketing company for
Quarterly potash sales volumes of 2.7 million tonnes were the second highest in our history, trailing only last year's second quarter, which we entered with 1.1 million tonnes of inventory and therefore had more product to sell. By quarter-end, our inventories had declined to a record-low 315,000 tonnes, 58 percent below the same time last year and 53 percent below
Potash cost of goods sold was almost
Three-year contracts with unionized employees at each of Cory,
Nitrogen
In a strong pricing environment underpinned by high world energy prices and heavy global agricultural demand, our nitrogen segment generated a record
Realized prices for ammonia increased 70 percent quarter over quarter, while urea prices rose 50 percent from the same quarter last year. The higher prices for other nitrogen fertilizers pushed nitrogen solutions prices up 44 percent compared to the same period of 2007.
Second-quarter ammonia sales volumes fell by 25 percent from 2007, due to reduced product availability resulting from a 53-day shutdown at our
Driven by significantly higher
Phosphate
Substantially higher prices drove second-quarter phosphate gross margin to a record
Strong global demand and higher input costs contributed to an increase in solid fertilizer realized prices to
Strong offshore demand raised solid fertilizer volumes by 6 percent from the second quarter of 2007 and 38 percent from this year's first quarter. This demand was driven by
Phosphate cost of sales was negatively impacted by sulfur, which rose 311 percent compared to the same quarter in 2007 and affected all products, while ammonia was up 60 percent quarter over quarter, affecting solid fertilizer costs. Higher prices in all product categories more than offset these rising input costs.
Financial
Provincial mining and other taxes rose by 371 percent from the same quarter last year, and actual provincial mining and other taxes as a percentage of potash segment gross margin rose to 18 percent versus 13 percent in the same quarter in 2007. The significant increase in potash profit per tonne somewhat reduced the impact of the per-tonne deduction benefit for capital spending on potash projects in
As previously disclosed in
Outlook
We believe the recent attention to issues of food production and food security is a necessary and positive development, as those issues are a long-term reality underpinning growth in the fertilizer industry. Global population continues to rise by an estimated 77 million people per year, with the largest portion of that growth occurring in countries with increasing economic strength such as
The world's farmers must produce record volumes of grain and oilseeds every year just to meet the growing need for food, animal feed, fiber and fuel. This does not even begin to address the issue of restoring severely depleted global grain inventories, now down to less than two months of supply. That presents farmers with a significant challenge - one that becomes greater as population covers a larger portion of the world's agricultural spaces, leaving less land for food production.
Producing record crops globally year after year is difficult and unpredictable for many reasons, particularly the weather. Due to cool wet weather, more than half of the US corn crop was seeded after
These conditions, in turn, underpin demand for fertilizers, which are essential to maximize the quality and quantity of crop yields. Research has established that without fertilizer, at least 40 percent of the world's annual crop production would be lost. If nutrients in the soil are not replaced following harvest, future production suffers. Thus, the world's ability to produce more grain is tied directly to best farming practices, which include appropriate application of fertilizer, especially in developing regions that continue to under-apply.
The evidence about the financial benefits of proper fertilizer application is powerful. Sensitivity analyses estimate that an average US farmer planting fertilizer-intensive corn - with short ton costs of
Supply and demand will continue to be the drivers of the potash business for the foreseeable future, barring an improbable collapse in crop commodity prices, as an estimated 3-4 million tonnes of annual global potash demand today remains unmet. As a result, delivered offshore spot prices have reached or exceeded
The world's soils will be increasingly deficient in potassium if the unmet demand continues to grow. This will reduce future yield potential, an untenable situation that makes PotashCorp's ongoing capacity expansion program essential to filling the large potash supply/demand gap. On
For the remainder of this year, both PotashCorp and Canpotex are in a sold-out volume position and will continue to ship to North American and offshore customers on an allocation basis. We recently announced a
In nitrogen and phosphate, a strong fall season in the US appears likely, driven by the prospect of large 2009 corn plantings and farmers' strong desire to prepare in advance after a difficult wet 2008 spring. High costs for sulfur and phosphate rock are unlikely to abate, and industry consultants expect that contracts for Moroccan rock could reach
Capital expenditures, excluding capitalized interest, are expected to be approximately
With higher expected overall gross margin, which will be partially offset by increased royalties, provincial mining and corporate income taxes, and assuming parity between the Canadian and US dollar, PotashCorp is raising full-year net income guidance from
Conclusion
"The current operating environment provides an opportunity to deliver record results, but more importantly gives us the ability to reinvest our strong cash flow for sustainable growth in the future," said Doyle. "Food production and fertilizer demand are not quarter-to-quarter issues. They are long-term necessities tied to human development which are likely to intensify over time. As we have in the past, we will keep our focus on the future and execute strategies designed to generate the greatest long-term value and opportunity for all our stakeholders, including our customers, investors and employees."
Notes ——- 1. All references to per-share amounts pertain to diluted net income per share. 2. See reconciliation and description of non-GAAP measures in the attached section titled \"Selected Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Reconciliations.\"
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. is the world's largest fertilizer enterprise producing the three primary plant nutrients and a leading supplier to three distinct market categories: agriculture, with the largest capacity in the world in potash, second largest in nitrogen and third largest in phosphate; animal nutrition, with the world's largest capacity in phosphate feed ingredients; and industrial chemicals, as the largest global producer of industrial nitrogen products and the world's largest capacity for production of purified industrial phosphoric acid.
This release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain factors and assumptions including foreign exchange rates, expected growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities and effective income tax rates. While the company considers these factors and assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Several factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: fluctuations in supply and demand in fertilizer, sulfur, transportation and petrochemical markets; changes in competitive pressures, including pricing pressures; timing and amount of capital expenditures; risks associated with natural gas and other hedging activities; changes in capital markets and corresponding effects on the company's investments; changes in currency and exchange rates; unexpected geological or environmental conditions, including water inflow; strikes and other forms of work stoppage or slowdowns including the possibility of work stoppages at our
PotashCorp will host a conference call on Thursday, July 24, 2008, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. To join the call, dial (604) 638-5340 at least 10 minutes prior to the start time. No reservation ID is required. Alternatively, visit www.potashcorp.com for a live webcast of the conference call. Webcast participants can submit questions to management online from their audio player pop-up window. This news release is also available at this same website. Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position (in millions of US dollars except share amounts) (unaudited) June 30, December 31, 2008 2007 ————————————————————————————————————- Assets Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 269.9 $ 719.5 Accounts receivable 1,091.1 596.2 Inventories 605.0 428.1 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 57.0 36.7 Current portion of derivative instrument assets 96.1 30.8 ————————————————————————————————————- 2,119.1 1,811.3 Derivative instrument assets 285.8 104.2 Property, plant and equipment 4,172.1 3,887.4 Investments (Note 2) 5,020.9 3,581.5 Other assets 262.0 210.7 Intangible assets 22.8 24.5 Goodwill 97.0 97.0 ————————————————————————————————————- $11,979.7 $ 9,716.6 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- Liabilities Current liabilities Short-term debt $ 932.3 $ 90.0 Accounts payable and accrued charges 1,476.6 911.7 Current portion of long-term debt 0.2 0.2 ————————————————————————————————————- 2,409.1 1,001.9 Long-term debt 1,339.2 1,339.4 Future income tax liability 1,237.9 988.1 Accrued pension and other post-retirement benefits 254.0 244.8 Accrued environmental costs and asset retirement obligations 125.0 121.0 Other non-current liabilities and deferred credits 3.4 2.7 ————————————————————————————————————- 5,368.6 3,697.9 ————————————————————————————————————- Shareholders' Equity Share capital 1,440.7 1,461.3 Unlimited authorization of common shares without par value; issued and outstanding 306,596,987 and 316,411,209 at June 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007, respectively Contributed surplus 126.3 98.9 Accumulated other comprehensive income 3,337.9 2,178.9 Retained earnings 1,706.2 2,279.6 ————————————————————————————————————- 6,611.1 6,018.7 ————————————————————————————————————- $11,979.7 $ 9,716.6 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- (See Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements) Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Retained Earnings (in millions of US dollars except per-share amounts) (unaudited) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30 June 30 2008 2007 2008 2007 ————————————————————————————————————- Sales (Note 6) $ 2,621.0 $ 1,353.1 $ 4,511.6 $ 2,507.8 Less: Freight 103.4 92.3 205.8 174.2 Transportation and distribution 33.3 32.6 65.6 63.6 Cost of goods sold 1,047.0 726.8 1,946.9 1,398.9 ————————————————————————————————————- Gross Margin 1,437.3 501.4 2,293.3 871.1 ————————————————————————————————————- Selling and administrative 79.7 73.5 126.9 114.1 Provincial mining and other taxes 163.0 34.6 262.4 67.1 Foreign exchange loss (gain) 1.9 39.5 (25.8) 41.5 Other income (Note 9) (103.3) (68.5) (115.2) (82.2) ————————————————————————————————————- 141.3 79.1 248.3 140.5 ————————————————————————————————————- Operating Income 1,296.0 422.3 2,045.0 730.6 Interest Expense 15.7 20.8 26.9 46.3 ————————————————————————————————————- Income Before Income Taxes 1,280.3 401.5 2,018.1 684.3 Income Taxes (Note 4) 375.2 115.8 547.0 200.6 ————————————————————————————————————- Net Income $ 905.1 $ 285.7 1,471.1 483.7 ——————————— ——————————— Retained Earnings, Beginning of Period 2,279.6 1,286.4 Repurchase of Common Shares (Note 3) (1,981.7) - Change in Accounting Policy - 0.2 Dividends (62.8) (47.3) ————————————————————————————————————- Retained Earnings, End of Period $ 1,706.2 $ 1,723.0 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- Net Income Per Share (Note 5) Basic $ 2.91 $ 0.91 $ 4.70 $ 1.53 Diluted $ 2.82 $ 0.88 $ 4.54 $ 1.50 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- Dividends Per Share $ 0.10 $ 0.10 $ 0.20 $ 0.15 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- (See Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements) Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow (in millions of US dollars) (unaudited) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30 June 30 2008 2007 2008 2007 ————————————————————————————————————- Operating Activities Net income $ 905.1 $ 285.7 $ 1,471.1 $ 483.7 ————————————————————————————————————- Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operating activities Depreciation and amortization 83.9 74.1 163.8 146.8 Stock-based compensation 25.1 27.8 27.9 30.5 (Gain) loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment and long-term investments (6.9) 5.5 (6.8) 5.4 Provision for auction rate securities 0.7 - 43.8 - Foreign exchange on future income tax (4.6) 23.4 (9.3) 26.1 Provision for future income tax 47.4 41.8 26.8 67.2 Undistributed earnings of equity investees (1.1) 11.1 (24.5) (1.9) (Gain) loss on derivative instruments (1.9) 0.9 (19.0) (5.4) Other long-term liabilities 7.7 3.4 7.1 4.3 ————————————————————————————————————- Subtotal of adjustments 150.3 188.0 209.8 273.0 ————————————————————————————————————- Changes in non-cash operating working capital Accounts receivable (283.5) 11.1 (494.9) (39.7) Inventories (106.2) 26.7 (229.3) 16.1 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 0.8 11.9 (23.4) 0.5 Accounts payable and accrued charges 228.1 2.7 403.6 112.1 ————————————————————————————————————- Subtotal of changes in non-cash operating working capital (160.8) 52.4 (344.0) 89.0 ————————————————————————————————————- Cash provided by operating activities 894.6 526.1 1,336.9 845.7 ————————————————————————————————————- Investing Activities Additions to property, plant and equipment (237.9) (127.5) (434.4) (236.5) Purchase of long-term investments (76.7) - (251.2) (9.7) Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment and long-term investments 9.3 1.0 9.6 1.3 Other assets and intangible assets (17.4) 12.5 (21.4) 10.7 ————————————————————————————————————- Cash used in investing activities (322.7) (114.0) (697.4) (234.2) ————————————————————————————————————- Cash before financing activities 571.9 412.1 639.5 611.5 ————————————————————————————————————- Financing Activities Repayment and issue costs of long-term debt obligations (0.2) (400.2) (0.2) (403.6) Proceeds from (repayment of) short-term debt obligations 828.9 (9.5) 842.4 (71.3) Dividends (30.7) (15.6) (62.5) (31.3) Repurchase of common shares (1,476.6) - (1,897.1) - Issuance of common shares 12.0 8.4 28.3 18.7 ————————————————————————————————————- Cash used in financing activities (666.6) (416.9) (1,089.1) (487.5) ————————————————————————————————————- (Decrease) Increase in Cash and Cash Equivalents (94.7) (4.8) (449.6) 124.0 Cash and Cash Equivalents, Beginning of Period 364.6 454.5 719.5 325.7 ————————————————————————————————————- Cash and Cash Equivalents, End of Period $ 269.9 $ 449.7 $ 269.9 $ 449.7 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- Cash and cash equivalents comprised of: Cash $ 42.5 $ 2.6 $ 42.5 $ 2.6 Short-term investments 227.4 447.1 227.4 447.1 ————————————————————————————————————- $ 269.9 $ 449.7 $ 269.9 $ 449.7 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- Supplemental cash flow disclosure Interest paid $ 22.8 $ 41.6 $ 37.1 $ 55.8 Income taxes paid $ 227.1 $ 37.0 $ 385.6 $ 69.1 ————————————————————————————————————- (See Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements) Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (in millions of US dollars) (unaudited) Three Months Ended June 30, 2008 Before Net of Income Income Income Taxes Taxes Taxes ————————————————————————————————————- Net income $ 1,280.3 $ 375.2 $ 905.1 ————————————————————————————————————- Other comprehensive income Net increase in unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities(1) 976.4 155.8 820.6 Net gains on derivatives designated as cash flow hedges(2) 216.9 62.3 154.6 Reclassification to income of net gains on cash flow hedges(2) (11.8) (3.3) (8.5) Unrealized foreign exchange gains on translation of self-sustaining foreign operations 3.3 - 3.3 ————————————————————————————————————- Other comprehensive income 1,184.8 214.8 970.0 ————————————————————————————————————- Comprehensive income $ 2,465.1 $ 590.0 $ 1,875.1 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- Six Months Ended June 30, 2008 Before Net of Income Income Income Taxes Taxes Taxes ————————————————————————————————————- Net income $ 2,018.1 $ 547.0 $ 1,471.1 ————————————————————————————————————- Other comprehensive income Net increase in unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities(1) 1,155.8 186.2 969.6 Net gains on derivatives designated as cash flow hedges(2) 279.9 81.2 198.7 Reclassification to income of net gains on cash flow hedges(2) (20.0) (5.8) (14.2) Unrealized foreign exchange gains on translation of self-sustaining foreign operations 4.9 - 4.9 ————————————————————————————————————- Other comprehensive income 1,420.6 261.6 1,159.0 ————————————————————————————————————- Comprehensive income $ 3,438.7 $ 808.6 $ 2,630.1 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- Three Months Ended June 30, 2007 Before Net of Income Income Income Taxes Taxes Taxes ————————————————————————————————————- Net income $ 401.5 $ 115.8 $ 285.7 ————————————————————————————————————- Other comprehensive income Net increase in unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities(1) 318.2 21.3 296.9 Net (losses) gains on derivatives designated as cash flow hedges(2) (4.2) (1.2) (3.0) Reclassification to income of net gains on cash flow hedges(2) (14.1) (4.3) (9.8) Unrealized foreign exchange gains on translation of self-sustaining foreign operations 0.3 - 0.3 ————————————————————————————————————- Other comprehensive income 300.2 15.8 284.4 ————————————————————————————————————- Comprehensive income $ 701.7 $ 131.6 $ 570.1 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- Six Months Ended June 30, 2007 Before Net of Income Income Income Taxes Taxes Taxes ————————————————————————————————————- Net income $ 684.3 $ 200.6 $ 483.7 ————————————————————————————————————- Other comprehensive income Net increase in unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities(1) 563.2 34.0 529.2 Net (losses) gains on derivatives designated as cash flow hedges(2) 30.9 9.3 21.6 Reclassification to income of net gains on cash flow hedges(2) (31.3) (9.4) (21.9) Unrealized foreign exchange gains on translation of self-sustaining foreign operations 4.9 - 4.9 ————————————————————————————————————- Other comprehensive income 567.7 33.9 533.8 ————————————————————————————————————- Comprehensive income $ 1,252.0 $ 234.5 $ 1,017.5 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- (1) Available-for-sale securities are comprised of shares in Israel Chemicals Ltd., Sinofert Holdings Limited and investments in auction rate securities. (2) Cash flow hedges are comprised of natural gas derivative instruments. Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statement of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (in millions of US dollars) (unaudited) Unrealized foreign Net Unrealized exchange unrealized gains on gains on gains on derivatives self- available- designated sustaining (Net of related for-sale as cash foreign income taxes) securities flow hedges operations Total ————————————————————————————————————- Accumulated other comprehensive income, December 31, 2007 $ 2,098.7 $ 73.5 $ 6.7 $ 2,178.9 Increase for the six months ended June 30, 2008 969.6 184.5 4.9 1,159.0 ————————————————————————————————————- Accumulated other comprehensive income, June 30, 2008 $ 3,068.3 $ 258.0 $ 11.6 $ 3,337.9 ————————————————————————————————————- ————————————————————————————————————- (See Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements) Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements For the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2008 (in millions of US dollars except share and per-share amounts) (unaudited) 1. Significant Accounting Policies With its subsidiaries, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. ("PCS") - together known as "PotashCorp" or "the company" except to the extent the context otherwise requires - forms an integrated fertilizer and related industrial and feed products company. The company's accounting policies are in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in Canada ("Canadian GAAP"). The accounting policies used in preparing these condensed consolidated financial statements are consistent with those used in the preparation of the 2007 annual consolidated financial statements, except as described below. These interim condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PCS and its subsidiaries; however, they do not include all disclosures normally provided in annual consolidated financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the 2007 annual consolidated financial statements. In management's opinion, the unaudited financial statements include all adjustments (consisting solely of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly such information. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the fiscal year. Inventories In June 2007, the CICA issued Section 3031, "Inventories", which replaces Section 3030 and harmonizes the Canadian standard related to inventories with International Financial Reporting Standards. This standard provides more extensive guidance on the determination of cost, including allocation of overhead; narrows the permitted cost formulas; restricts the classification of spare and replacement parts as inventory; requires impairment testing; and expands the disclosure requirements to increase transparency. This standard applies to interim and annual financial statements relating to fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2008. This standard has been applied prospectively; accordingly comparative amounts for prior periods have not been restated. The adoption of this standard resulted in a reclassification of certain spare and replacement parts to property, plant and equipment. The effects of the adjustment were to decrease inventory by $21.5 at January 1, 2008 and increase property, plant and equipment in the same amount. Since there was no difference in the measurement of the assets, no adjustment to opening retained earnings was necessary. 2. Investments In January 2008, the company settled its forward purchase contract, which was denominated in Hong Kong dollars, to acquire an additional 194,290,175 shares of Sinofert Holdings Limited ("Sinofert") for cash consideration of $173.7. A tax-exempt gain of $25.3 was recognized during 2008 as a result of the change in fair value of the contract from December 31, 2007 to the settlement date. During the second quarter of 2008, the company purchased an additional 102,128,000 shares of Sinofert for cash consideration of $76.4. Net of the ownership interest dilution that resulted from the issuance of shares of Sinofert, the acquisitions increased the company's ownership interest in Sinofert to approximately 21 percent. Investments include auction rate securities that are classified as available-for-sale. The company has determined that the fair value of the auction rate securities was $46.9 at June 30, 2008 (face value $132.5). Of the $85.6 impairment, $18.8 was considered temporary and $66.8 was considered other-than-temporary. This represents an increase of $9.1 from the $76.5 impairment at December 31, 2007, of which $50.0 was considered temporary and $26.5 was considered other-than-temporary. At March 31, 2008 the total impairment was $89.4 of which $19.8 was considered temporary and $69.6 was considered other-than-temporary. Market conditions that existed at the end of 2007 which caused the investments to be illiquid continued through the first half of 2008. The company is able to hold these investments until liquidity improves, but does not expect this to occur in the next 12 months. 3. Share Repurchase On January 23, 2008, the Board of Directors of PCS authorized a share repurchase program of up to 15,820,000 common shares (approximately 5 percent of the company's issued and outstanding common shares) through a normal course issuer bid. If considered advisable, shares may be repurchased from time to time on the open market through January 30, 2009 at prevailing market prices. The timing and amount of purchases, if any, under the program will be dependent upon the availability and alternative uses of capital, market conditions and other factors. During the three months ended June 30, 2008, the company repurchased for cancellation 7,456,700 common shares under the program, at a cost of $1,515.9 and an average price per share of $203.30. The repurchase resulted in a reduction of share capital of $34.8, and the excess of cost over the average book value of the shares of $1,481.1 has been recorded as a reduction of retained earnings. During the six months ended June 30, 2008, a total of 10,855,500 shares were repurchased at a cost of $2,032.2 and an average price per share of $187.21, resulting in a reduction of share capital of $50.5 and a reduction in retained earnings of $1,981.7. Of the $2,032.2 of common shares repurchased with trade dates through June 30, 2008, only $1,897.1 had settled in cash by the close of the quarter. 4. Income Taxes The company's consolidated reported income tax rate for the three months ended June 30, 2008 was approximately 29 percent (2007 - 29 percent) and for the six months ended June 30, 2008 was approximately 27 percent (2007 - 29 percent). For the three and six months ended June 30, 2008, the consolidated effective income tax rate was 29 percent (2007 - 30 percent). Items to note include the following: - A scheduled one and a half percentage point reduction in the Canadian federal income tax rate applicable to resource companies along with the elimination of the one percent surtax became effective at the beginning of 2008. In addition, there was an increase in permanent deductions in the US. - As a result of the higher permanent deductions in the US, it was determined that the consolidated effective income tax rate for the year had decreased from 30 percent to 29 percent. The impact of this change on the prior period was reflected during the quarter. - Future income tax assets were written down by $11.0 during the second quarter of 2008. - During the first quarter of 2008, an income tax recovery of $42.0 was recorded that related to an increase in permanent deductions in the US from prior years. - The $25.3 gain recognized in first-quarter 2008 as a result of the change in fair value of the forward purchase contract for shares in Sinofert was not taxable. 5. Net Income Per Share Basic net income per share for the quarter is calculated on the weighted average shares issued and outstanding for the three months ended June 30, 2008 of 310,615,000 (2007 - 315,458,000). Basic net income per share for the year to date is calculated based on the weighted average shares issued and outstanding for the six months ended June 30, 2008 of 313,138,000 (2007 - 315,180,000). Diluted net income per share is calculated based on the weighted average number of shares issued and outstanding during the period. The denominator is: (1) increased by the total of the additional common shares that would have been issued assuming exercise of all stock options with exercise prices at or below the average market price for the period; and (2) decreased by the number of shares that the company could have repurchased if it had used the assumed proceeds from the exercise of stock options to repurchase them on the open market at the average share price for the period. The weighted average number of shares outstanding for the diluted net income per share calculation for the three months ended June 30, 2008 was 321,089,000 (2007 - 323,674,000) and for the six months ended June 30, 2008 was 323,716,000 (2007 - 323,139,000). 6. Segment Information The company has three reportable business segments: potash, nitrogen and phosphate. These business segments are differentiated by the chemical nutrient contained in the product that each produces. Inter-segment sales are made under terms that approximate market value. The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in Note 1. Three Months Ended June 30, 2008 ————————————————————————————————————- Consol- Potash Nitrogen Phosphate All Others idated ————————————————————————————————————- Sales $1,194.5 $ 644.5 $ 782.0 $ - $2,621.0 Freight 60.3 13.3 29.8 - 103.4 Transportation and distribution 13.9 11.0 8.4 - 33.3 Net sales - third party 1,120.3 620.2 743.8 - Cost of goods sold 233.9 410.2 402.9 - 1,047.0 Gross margin 886.4 210.0 340.9 - 1,437.3 Depreciation and amortization 24.0 22.3 35.7 1.9 83.9 Inter-segment sales - 40.6 10.5 - - Three Months Ended June 30, 2007 ————————————————————————————————————- Consol- Potash Nitrogen Phosphate All Others idated ————————————————————————————————————- Sales $ 510.2 $ 481.2 $ 361.7 $ - $1,353.1 Freight 53.2 13.3 25.8 - 92.3 Transportation and distribution 12.6 12.6 7.4 - 32.6 Net sales - third party 444.4 455.3 328.5 - Cost of goods sold 184.0 311.1 231.7








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