Canadian Fertilizer Company Profits Drop In 3rd Quarter

(Dow Jones) -- Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc.'s third-quarter profit and sales came in well below year-earlier levels as a continued slump in fertilizer-nutrient prices outweighed a pickup in volumes.The big Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based fertilizer company, which earlier this year agreed to merge with peer Agrium Inc., said potash sales volumes were a record in the quarter, and spot prices for the key fertilizer ingredient were up about 15% from lows earlier in the year. Still, on a year-over-year basis, potash prices slumped about 40%, offsetting record potash sales volumes of 2.5 million metric tons.Prices for nitrogen and phosphate, two other key fertilizer components produced by the company, were also well below year-earlier levels.Overall, Potash's third-quarter earnings fell 71% to $81 million, or 10 cents a share. Analysts were expecting earnings of 9 cents, according to FactSet.Sales fell 26% to $1.14 billion.