The cost of fertilizers has surged over the past few years, making it challenging for farmers to sustain their operations. Unlike many hard-working farmers in California, recent profit announcements from publicly traded fertilizer companies indicate they had a good profit year in 2022.
C.F. Industries Holding, Inc is an American company publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: C.F.) that is a major nitrogen manufacturer. In its earnings report release for the fourth quarter of 2022, 2022 adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was $5.9 billion, more than doubling the earnings level of $2.7 billion in 2021.
Similarly, Nutrien Ltd (ticker symbol: NTR) showed their net earnings were $7.7 billion in 2022, more than doubling their earnings of $3.2 billion in 2021.
The Mosaic Company (ticker symbol: MOS), whose activities center around potash and phosphate fertilizer, adjusted EBITDA was $6.2 billion in 2022, a 72% increase from $3.6 billion in 2021.
The surge in profits of fertilizer companies can be largely attributed to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, which has significantly reduced the global supply of fertilizers, primarily from Russia and Europe. As market conditions return to normal, fertilizer giants will not likely see the same returns as in 2022.
