Dividend Increases/Decreases for the Week Ending January 30
Let’s take a look at dividend increases/decreases for the week ending January 30.
POT
Potash Market: The Best Is Behind It
It’s always sad when good things come to an end. In this case, it appears to be the global potash cartel…permanently. According to reports from the Wall Street Journal this week, the CEO of “Russian potash giant Uralkali JSC has no plans to restore a sales partnership with Belarus.” It appears that the prospects for reconciliation of the Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) have passed, and the global pricing cartel in the fertilizer ingredient is now a thing of the past. There are no plans for further talks at this time. Canpotex, which is comprised of Potash Corp (POT), the Mosaic Co (MOS), and Agrium (AGU), and the BPC collectively controlled about 70% of global potash exports. With the breakup of … Read more
Rio Tinto Remains One of Our Favorite Ideas for Commodities Exposure
Firms in commodities-driven industries are notoriously difficult to value–not only is there execution risk related to their cost structures but the price they receive for the respective commodities that they produce is cyclical—and driven by external factors beyond their individual control. For example, BHP Billiton (BHP) can’t necessarily raise its prices on standard-grade iron-ore at a high-single-digit pace unless the market colludes (others follow along with its price hike). This is unlike a company such as Hershey (HSY) that can hike prices almost at will to offset rising cocoa costs. That’s why commodities firms can only carve out competitive advantages by being the low-cost provider (their prices are set by the marketplace). Though it is more difficult for a commodities-producing … Read more
Valuentum Economic Castleâ„¢ Rating Update
Read: Keeping the Horse Before the Cart: Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ Rating The Economic Castle Focuses on the Magnitude of Economic Value Creation The Valuentum Economic Castle™ rating is an enhancement of the competitive advantage framework (commonly known as economic moat analysis) that has become widespread and ubiquitous within the investing world. Whereas an economic moat framework evaluates a firm on the basis of the sustainability and durability of its competitive advantages, Valuentum’s Economic Castle™ rating evaluates a firm on the basis of the firm’s future economic profit spread (return on invested capital less its weighted average cost of capital). The companies with the strongest Valuentum Economic Castle™ ratings are poised to generate the most economic value for shareholders in the … Read more
PotashCorp’s 2014 Earnings Will Decline Due to Pricing Pressure
On January 30, PotashCorp (POT) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2013 results. The fertilizer giant faced challenging market conditions during much of the year, and PotashCorp CEO Bill Doyle was quick to note that “this past quarter was a difficult one. Pricing headwinds – most notably in potash – weighed on (its) performance, although there were signs as the quarter came to a close that the uncertainty in global markets was beginning to abate. (Its) focus remain(s) on those things (it) can influence, and (it) took important steps to enhance (its) competitive position across all three nutrients and prepare the company to deliver better performance.” Unfortunately, the most important “thing” is something that PotashCorp cannot control: pricing. Competitive pressures and a … Read more
Monsanto Reports Fourth Quarter Results and Moves into Data
Agricultural biotechnology giant Monsanto (click ticker for report: ) posted slightly disappointing fourth quarter results Wednesday morning. For the full year, revenue increased 8.7% year-over-year to $14.8 billion, while quarterly revenue rose 4.9% year-over-year to $2.2 billion–a touch short of consensus estimates. Earnings per share for the full year advanced 21% year-over-year to $4.60, with the firm’s quarterly loss increasing by five cents to $0.47 per share–worse than consensus expectations. Free cash flow during fiscal year 2013 was $2 billion, equal to 13.2% of total revenue. The fourth quarter isn’t much of a revenue driver or profit driver for Monsanto, so we find it more prudent to take a closer look at full-year results. Image Source: Monsanto The firm’s ‘Corn … Read more
The Potash Situation Gets More Interesting
Late last month, Russian producer Uralkali backed out of a highly profitable and rational potash cartel arrangement, creating a free-for-all in the global potash market. As a result, shares of North American potash producers such as Potash (click ticker for report: ), Mosaic (click ticker for report: ), Agrium (click ticker for report: ), and Intrepid Potash (click ticker for report: ) have come under significant pressure as a result of the prospects for significant lower economic returns. Then mining giant BHP (click ticker for report: ) confirmed it will invest in its Jansen potash project, which will add even more potash supply to the market. A look at industry bellwether Potash’s shares below reveals the recent difficult performance experienced by the … Read more
Uralkali Backs Out of Belarusian Potash Company; Industry to Change
Early this morning, Russian fertilizer Uralkali announced it will leave the Belarusian Potash Company in order to grab market share. CEO Vladislav Baumgertner asserted that BPC partner Belaruskali had been making potash exports outside of the pre-arranged agreement, rendering the BPC useless. Until now, the potash industry had been a relatively stable cartel allowing industry participants to generate robust amounts of free cash flow as spot prices rested well above the cost of production. On a conference call following the announcement, Baumgertner mentioned that the price of potash could fall by over $100/tonne as Uralkali will boost production nearly 25% and look to steal market share. Uralkali is the largest single potash producer in the world and likely has the … Read more
Potash Corp Struggles with Weak Nutrient Prices
Nutrient fertilizer producer Potash Corp (click ticker for report: ) posted weak second quarter results Thursday morning. Revenue declined 11% year-over-year to $2.1 billion, worse than consensus estimates had anticipated. Earnings per share, adjusted for one-time items, declined 26% year-over-year to $0.73 per share, which was also worse than consensus expectations. Free cash flow remained terrific at $848 million, equal to 40% of revenue. Image Source: POT 2Q 2013 Investor Slides Potash’s issue during the second quarter was the material decline in potash (the mineral) gross margins. Prices declined significantly, falling 18% year-over-year to $356 per tonne as robust North American farmer demand (up 28% year-over-year) was more than offset by lower realized prices shipped via Canpotex. Price is paramount … Read more
Is BHP Jumping Into the Potash Market?
Earlier this week, rumors intensified regarding mining giant BHP (click ticker for report: BHP) and the firm’s prospective entry into the potash market. Because demand for potash (see image below) tends to be a bit more stable than the company’s other resources (namely iron ore), we can see why BHP would be interested in entering the market. Image Source: Potash As it is currently structured, the potash market is dominated by a few large players, namely Canpotex and Belarus Potash Company. Canpotex is comprised of Potash Corporation (click ticker for report: ), Mosaic (click ticker for report: ), and Agrium (click ticker for report: ), while the Belarus Potash Company (BPC) represents the Russian equivalents. These two producers form a … Read more