DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Mosaic Co.'s (MOS) fiscal second-quarter earnings fell 39% as the sale of an equity investment boosted year-ago results, though phosphate and potash sales increased in the latest period. The fertilizer producer has reported strong results for several quarters, helped by growing worldwide demand for food, which has mostly widened its margins as higher selling prices have outpaced a jump in input costs. However, Mosaic said last week it would cut phosphate production by as much as 250,000 tons over the next three months in response to market oversupply, though it still expects record demand for crop fertilizers next year. The company said dealers and distributors had delayed buying ahead of the North American crop season because of wider economic uncertainty. Prices had fallen but are seen recovering as farmers use an above-average amount of crop nutrients next year. "While we expect third quarter results to decline due to near-term macroeconomic uncertainty and cautious distributor purchasing behavior, we remain confident of the strong long-term demand prospects for our products," President and Chief Executive Jim Prokopanko said Wednesday. For the quarter ended Nov. 30, Mosaic reported a profit of $623.6 million, or $1.40 a share, down from $1.03 billion, or $2.29 a share, a year earlier. The year-ago period included a $1.27 per-share gain from the sale of the company's Fosfertil business. Net sales climbed 13% to $3.01 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.28 a share on revenue of $3.2 billion. Gross margin widened to 29.2% from 28.7%, driven primarily by higher selling prices and partially offset by higher phosphate raw material costs and lower volumes. Sales of phosphates and potash were up 10% and 20%. Shares rose by 30 cents to $52.60 in recent after-hours trading. The stock is up 6.6% in the past three months, through the close. -By Nathalie Tadena, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3287; nathalie.tadena@dowjones.com;
