Agrium Reports $1.00 vs. $1.14

Agrium Inc. AGU announced today net earnings of $158-million ($1.00 diluted earnings per share) for the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with the net earnings of $30-million in the fourth quarter of 2009 ($0.19 diluted earnings per share). Net earnings from continuing operations, which exclude losses associated with AWB Limited Commodity Management business which is under a definitive sales agreement to Cargill Incorporated, were $175-million ($1.10 diluted earnings per share) for the fourth quarter of 2010. On an annual basis, 2010 net earnings were $714-million and $4.52 diluted earnings per share ($731-million and $4.63 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations basis), as compared to net earnings of $366-million ($2.33 diluted earnings per share) in 2009. The 2010 fourth quarter results include an after-tax loss from discontinued operations of $17-million ($0.10 diluted earnings per share), a pre-tax stock-based compensation expense of $49-million ($0.21 diluted earnings per share), a $0.09 reduction in diluted earnings per share related to new Canadian tax legislation on stock-based compensation payments and pre-tax gains of $4-million ($0.02 diluted earnings per share)on natural gas and other commodity hedge positions. Net earnings from continuing operations calculated on the same basis as the company's guidance would have been $219-million ($1.38 diluted earnings per share) for the fourth quarter of 2010, relative to the company's guidance range for the quarter of $1.00 to $1.30 diluted earnings per share.