Agrium (AGU) Guides Q3 EPS Below Views

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) announced that it expects earnings from continuing operations to be in the range of $0.45 to $0.55 diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of 2014 and fourth quarter earnings from continuing operations to be similar to net earnings in the fourth quarter 2013.

*** Consensus estimates call for Q3 EPS of $0.68.

Agrium expects the EBITDA2 contribution from its Wholesale operations in the second half of 2014 to be similar to last year's results. Stronger nitrogen results are expected to offset the impact of downtime associated with major turnarounds. The Vanscoy potash facility is down to tie in its major expansion and the Redwater nitrogen facility is undergoing its planned 45 day turnaround to replace a major piece of equipment, which started in early September. Both of these turnarounds are expected to be completed within the previously disclosed timeframes.

Retail EBITDA in the second half of 2014 is anticipated to be in-line with the record EBITDA achieved in the same period last year, excluding the one-time adjustments recorded in the fourth quarter of 20133. We expect that the benefits derived from our broad geographic exposure, diversified portfolio of inputs for a wide variety of crops and continued proprietary product growth will largely offset the impact of lower grain prices and lower crop protection product sales that resulted from the excellent growing conditions experienced across the U.S. this summer. Additionally, Viterra Retail operations typically see operational losses in the second half of the year.

The major assumptions made in our second half guidance are outlined below and include but are not limited to:

The exclusion from the guidance range of the effects in the second half of:

• Share-based payments
• Gains or losses on foreign exchange and derivative hedge positions
• Non-recurring non-operating gains or losses

Agrium will be providing additional guidance for fourth quarter earnings at the time of our third quarter results to be issued November 4, 2014.

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