While it was an improvement over last year, first-quarter profits for Agrium (TSE:AGU) (NYSE:AGU) were disappointing, as they posted a loss of $7 million, or 4 cents a share.
Last year during the same quarter Agrium lost $60 million, or 38 cents a share.
Costs of natural gas hit the company especially hard, as hedges made the company pay more than they would have otherwise.
What was particularly disappointing were the profits related to crop-protection and seed sales, which failed to meet analysts' expectations. Fertilizer sales at the retail and wholesale level were where analysts thought they would be.
Revenue for the quarter increased to $1.85 billion, based on demand growing for base fertilizers.
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