Nutrien Ltd (NYSE:NTR) stock rose 0.86% (As on February 20, 11:22:38 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company fell short of Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter profit, as the top potash producer struggled with lower sales of crop nutrients. Quarterly sales for its retail segment were down at US$3.18 billion, compared with US$3.50 billion a year earlier, dragged by about 15% drop in crop nutrients sales. The company said the sales volumes were impacted by wet weather in North America in the quarter as well as its strategic actions in Brazil. Earlier this month, Nutrien’s Brazilian unit said it would sell its fertilizer blending plants in the country. Nutrien is shifting its focus to reselling farm inputs through its network of local retailers in Brazil as part of a sharp strategic change after its acquisitions and investments failed to yield the expected returns.

NTR in the fourth quarter of FY 24 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 31 cents, missing the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 35 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG. The company had reported the adjusted revenue decline of 10.3 percent to $5.1 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 24.

Additionally, the company has declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.545 per share payable on April 10, 2025 to shareholders of record on March 31, 2025. The Board also approved the purchase of up to five percent of Nutrien’s issued and outstanding common shares over a twelve-month period through a normal course issuer bid (NCIB).

The company expect US corn plantings to range between 91 and 93 million acres and soybean plantings to range from 84 to 86 million acres in 2025. In Brazil, generally favorable soil moisture conditions and stronger crop prices are expected to lead to an increase in safrinha corn planted acreage of approximately five percent, supporting crop input demand in the first half of 2025.

The company forecast global potash shipments between 71 and 75 million tonnes in 2025. The US nitrogen supply and demand balance is expected to be tight ahead of the spring application season, as nitrogen fertilizer net imports in the first half of the 2024/2025 fertilizer year were down approximately 60 percent compared to the five-year average.

The company expects Retail adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $1.65 to $1.85 billion. Total capital expenditures of $2.0 to $2.1 billion are expected to be lower than the prior year.