Saturday, July 24, 2010

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) Doubles Potash Sales, Declares Dividend

In their quarterly report, Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) said they generated a profit of $396.1 million, or $0.89 a share. That was on sales of $696.5 million in potash sales, double last year's total.

Last year, earnings came in at $146.9 million, or 33 cents a share in the same quarter. Revenue in the quarter rose to $1.86 billion, an increase of 17 percent.

Phosphate sales remained level with last year, reaching $1.2 billion.

The downside is their highly productive mine in South Fort Meade, Florida, which a U.S district judge allowed a dubious claim by the Sierra Club that it could harm water, result in a restraining order against them. That particular mine generates about 33 percent of all phosphate production from the company on an annual basis.

Mosaic executives said while they doubt the Sierra Club will be able to prove and/or convince the judge there is a legitimate threat to the water quality, they are putting together a contingency plan in the unlikely case they are ruled against. They added they would immediately seek appeal if that is the case.

Even so, Mosaic likes what they see going forward, and the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 a share Friday. Shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 6, 2010 will qualify for the dividend, which will be paid on August 19, 2010.

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