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Agrium shows loss for quarter, year; Argentine devaluation pulls down results
Allen Baker
Agrium Inc. showed a loss of $80 million for the fourth quarter as problems in Argentina complicated an already difficult year. Earnings were $22 million in the fourth quarter of 2000. Calgary-based Agrium owns the fertilizer plant in Nikiski.
For the year, the company lost $42 million, compared with a profit of $82 million for 2000. Though the company is based in Canada, it reports results in U.S. dollars.
Weather problems reduced sales last spring, and then high inventories depressed prices. The global economic slowdown reduced industrial demand later in the year.
Even so, “Agrium would have ended the year with a modest net income of $4 million had our results not been further decreased by the devaluation and forced conversion of U.S. dollar assets in Argentine,” said John Van Brunt, Agrium’s president and CEO. He said 2002 was looking up, however.
North American earnings before interest and taxes totaled $31 million for the year, down 81 percent from a year earlier.
Net sales for the fourth quarter were $469 million, down 3 percent from a year earlier. Annual earnings up 10 percent For the year, Agrium racked up sales of $2.06 billion, up 10 percent from the figure for 2000. That reflected the results from owning the Nikiski plant for the entire 2001 year.
Agrium bought the facility from Unocal at the end of September 2000.
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