Mosaic Beats Profit Estimate on Potash Sales at Top of Range

Mosaic Co., the largest U.S. fertilizer producer, reported fiscal third-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as potash sales came in at the high end of the company’s forecast because of Asian demand.

Net income rose to $344.6 million, or 81 cents a share, in the three months through February, from $273.3 million, or 64 cents, a year earlier, Plymouth, Minnesota-based Mosaic said today in a statement. Profit, excluding the cost of an antitrust settlement and other one-time items, was 90 cents a share, beating the 88-cent average of 17 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales increased 2.3 percent to $2.24 billion, trailing the $2.3 billion average of 15 estimates.