Nutrien posts higher profit as prices rise, flags tight nitrogen supply

May 6 (Reuters) - Canada's Nutrien ‌reported a rise ​in ​first-quarter profit on Wednesday, benefiting from higher sales and prices across its fertilizer segments, with the world's top potash producer also ‌flagging tighter nitrogen market conditions going forward.

Fertilizer prices rose during the ⁠quarter, led by a surge in nitrogen rates as global supplies tightened due to ‌the Middle East conflict, while ‌phosphate prices were broadly higher and potash held relatively firm, supporting margins for producers such as Nutrien.

The company expects the global nitrogen market to ​be impacted for the rest of the year by the uneven restoration of trade flows and gradual resumption of nitrogen production in some ⁠facilities, as well as uncertainty around Chinese urea exports and Indian urea imports.

"We anticipate relatively tight potash ​fundamentals throughout 2026, with demand trends expected to test existing global operating and supply chain capabilities," the company said.

Net sales ​across Nutrien's fertilizer segments rose during the ‌first quarter, supported by stronger prices. Potash net sales rose 24% to $926 million driven by record volumes, while nitrogen climbed ⁠15% to $1.01 billion and phosphates gained 35% at $485 million.

However, adjusted core profit in the phosphates segment fell 7% to $57 million due to higher sulfur input costs.

Nutrien is ⁠progressing as planned with the review of strategic alternatives for its phosphates business, the Trinidad ​nitrogen facility and Brazilian retail business, the fertilizer company said.

Nutrien launched a strategic review of its phosphate business in November to simplify its portfolio. In October, it began ‌a controlled shutdown of its Trinidad nitrogen operations due to gas supply constraints and port access issues that weighed ‌on free cash flow.

The Saskatoon, Canada-based firm reported a net income of $139 million, ⁠or 27 cents per share, for ‌the three months ended ​March 31, up from $19 million, or 2 cents per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Sumit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Jonathan Ananda)

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