Mosaic Q1 Earnings Rise - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Agricultural nutrients maker Mosaic Co. (MOS) Thursday said its first-quarter net earnings increased to $295 million from $218 million in the first quarter of 2014. Earnings per share rose to $0.80 from $0.54. Mosaic said that items positively impacted current quarter earnings per share by $0.10.

Operating earnings rose to $319 million from $267 million, driven by higher phosphate and potash prices, higher phosphate sales volumes and lower operating costs in the Potash segment, although partially offset by higher phosphate raw material costs, lower potash sales volumes and an increase in Canadian resource taxes and royalties.

Mosaic's net sales grew to $2.14 billion from $2.0 billion last year. Mosaic said that during the quarter, it produced more tonnes of finished product than last year, lowered controllable operating costs, and delivered higher earnings per share.

Jim Prokopanko, President and CEO, said, "Our first quarter results highlight our strategic progress. The last twelve months have been transformational for Mosaic. We grew and rebalanced our business portfolio, optimized our balance sheet, and worked to assure Mosaic remains a low-cost producer. We are beginning to realize the benefits of these moves."