Mosaic Company to idle Louisiana phosphates operations
Published by Nicholas Woodroof,
Editor
World Fertilizer,
In advance of upcoming investor meetings, The Mosaic Company is to to initiate US$250 million in stock repurchases under its existing share repurchase authorisation, which has US$850 million of remaining capacity.
“Mosaic’s stock currently presents an exceptional opportunity to deploy capital. We believe that these repurchases are the best use of our capital in today’s environment, and we will continue to evaluate the amount we repurchase based on expected cash flow,” said President and CEO Joc O’Rourke.
Effective 1 October, Mosaic will idle its Louisiana phosphates operations to reduce production by approximately 500 000 t in 2019. The move is intended to accelerate the reduction of high phosphate fertilizer inventories. The company has said it expects strong fall fertilizer application in North America and a more balanced global supply-and-demand picture to emerge by 2020.
“Phosphate prices have declined further through the summer, with excess imports continuing to enter the US on top of high channel inventories,” O’Rourke said. “We expect our move to idle production to tighten supply and rebalance the market. Mosaic will prioritise shipments to meet key customer needs through the idling period.”
Mosaic Fertilizantes, the company’s Brazil-based business unit, has implemented actions necessary to meet or exceed its previously announced synergy target of US$275 million in 2019. In addition, Mosaic Fertilizantes intends to drive an additional US$200 million in annual value through ongoing business transformation efforts by the end of 2022.
“We believe taking these steps now will further enhance Mosaic’s ability to benefit from expected strong business conditions in 2020,” O’Rourke said.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldfertilizer.com/phosphates/11092019/mosaic-company-to-idle-louisiana-phosphates-operations/
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