SASKATOON -- Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX:POT) said Thursday an ongoing de-mand for fertilizer helped triple its full-year earnings and pushed fourth-quarter profits to twice year-earlier levels.
The Saskatoon-based company recorded earnings of $3.5 billion or $11.01 per share for fis-cal 2008, more than three times higher than 2007 profits of $1.1 billion or $3.40 per share.
Earnings were boosted by fourth-quarter profits of $788 million or $2.56 per share, up from year-earlier earnings of $376.8 million or $1.16 per share.
Potash reported a 2008 gross margin of $4.9 billion, up sharply from 2007 levels of $1.9 bil-lion. Gross margin for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2008 came to $873.1 million, 63 per cent higher than year-earlier levels.
Potash said its full-year results included a writedown of nitrogen and phosphate inventory values worth $88.9 million.
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"The unprecedented global economic challenges of the fourth quarter were a sharp con-trast to the positive operating environment of the first three quarters of 2008," Potash Chief Executive Bill Doyle said in a statement.
"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. Potash, our core nutrient, holds unique advantages that enable us to deliver strong perform-ance, even in a very difficult economic climate."
Potash's earnings come a month after the company issued temporary layoff notices to 940 employees, who will be without work for at least eight weeks.
The company also cut its 2009 earnings guidance to $10.75 per share, down from an earlier forecast of $12 to $13 per share.
