US-based phosphates and potash producer Mosaic Company on Monday announced that it would idle its Lousiana phosphates operations to help balance the global market.
Idling of the Louisana operations would reduce production by about 500 000 t in 2019 and would accelerate the reduction of high phosphate fertiliser inventories.
“Phosphate prices have declined further through the summer, with excess imports continuing to enter the US on top of high channel inventories,” commented Mosaic president and CEO Joc O’Rourke.
“We expect our move to idle production to tighten supply and rebalance the market. Mosaic will prioritise shipments to meet key customer needs through the idling period.”
In June, Mosaic permanently closed its Plant City phosphates manufacturing facility in Florida to cut costs in a weak global phosphates market. The plant was idled in 2017.
Meanwhile, the company also announced that it would initiate $250-million in stock repurchases under its existing share repurchase authorisation, which had $850-million of remaining capacity.
“Mosaic’s stock currently presents an exceptional opportunity to deploy capital. We believe that these repurchases are the best use of our capital in today’s environment, and we will continue to evaluate the amount we repurchase based on expected cash flow,” said O’Rourke.
Further, Mosaic said its Brazil-based business unit had implemented actions necessary to meet or exceed its previously announced synergy target of $275-million in 2019. Mosaic Fertilizantes also announced that it intended to drive an additional $200-million in yearly value through ongoing business transformation efforts by the end of 2022.