INDUSTRIAL MINERALS — Nitrogen price hurts Potash Corp.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT-T) has issued an announcement that weak prices for nitrogen will cut into its third-quarter earnings.

The company said that earnings per share for the quarter should be between US90 cents and $1, down from US$1.64 in the second quarter. Lower nitrogen prices have combined with decreased sales volumes, because the unusually warm autumn weather has meant that fall fertilizing programs are starting relatively late this year. Still, the company has declared a 36 cents dividend for the quarter.

In the second quarter of 1998, Potash Corp. reported net income of US$89 million on revenues of US$660 million, compared with US$97 million on revenue of US$677 million in the same quarter of 1997. For the first six months of the year, the company made US$152 million (US$2.81 per share) on revenue of US$1.2 billion. First-half earnings were down marginally from 1997, when the company earned US$153 million on revenue of US$1.1 billion.