Potash Corp. earnings boom

Potash 3-month TSX chart

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan said Thursday that it posted its best-ever fourth-quarter profit and a saw a tripling of its full-year earnings.

The Saskatoon-based company told investors it made $2.56 US per share, or $788 million, in the fourth quarter, more than double the $1.16 per share, $376.8 million, it earned in the same period last year. Potash reports in U.S. dollars.

Potash said that helped push its 2008 earnings to $11.01 per share, or $3.5 billion, more than triple the $3.40 per share, or $1.1 billion, earned in 2007.

The company said that marked its fifth consecutive year of record earnings.

"The unprecedented global economic challenges of the fourth quarter were a sharp contrast to the positive operating environment of the first three quarters of 2008," said company president and chief executive officer Bill Doyle. "Our success over the course of the year demonstrated the resilience and adaptability of our company, as well as the effectiveness of our strategies in rapidly changing conditions."

Looking ahead, the company said it expects slower demand for its products in the first quarter of this year, before sales pick up in the second quarter. The company currently estimates its first-quarter net income will be in the range of 70 cents to $1 per share, and projects its full-year earnings will be in a range of $10 to $12 per share.