Fertilizer Maker CF Still Bullish as Price Rally Takes a Breather
- Shares of Nutrien see record fall; CF rebounds from early drop
- Companies say underlying fertilizer demand to remain strong
Walkers look towards the CF Industries Holdings Inc. fertilizer manufacturing complex in Ince, UK.
Photographer: Anthony Devlin/BloombergNutrien Ltd. fell the most ever Thursday while CF Industries Holdings Inc. recovered from an early slide, after both posted disappointing quarterly earnings driven by farmers’ reluctance to purchase high-priced fertilizer. The difference: The outlook for nitrogen demand is better than for potash, another crop nutrient.
Shares of Nutrien, the world’s largest potash producer, fell 14% to C$97.93 in Toronto. CF, the biggest nitrogen-fertilizer maker, fell as much as 7.5% in New York before reversing losses to end 2% higher. While potash is critical to crop yields it can be skipped, unlike more urgently-needed inputs like nitrogen, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.