Mosaic profit slides on lower phosphate prices

Mosaic Co. posted a 22-per-cent drop in quarterly profit on Tuesday as prices for its phosphate fertilizer fell.

The company posted net income of $507.3-million, or $1.19 per share, for its fiscal fourth quarter, compared with $649.2-million, or $1.45 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell about 1 per cent to $2.82-billion, but still beat the $2.55-billion analysts had expected, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company doubled its quarterly dividend to 25 cents a share from 12.5 cents. It was Mosaic's second dividend increase this year.

Prices for phosphate, the second-most important fertilizer for farmers to apply and a key Mosaic product, fell to $494 per metric ton from $574 a year earlier.

Prices for potash, another key Mosaic product, rose between the two periods to $455 per metric ton.