On Friday, Shares of The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) lost -0.61% to $26.83. The stock grabbed the investor's attention and traded 2,540,077 shares as compared to its average daily volume of 3.98M shares. The stock’s institutional ownership stands at 81.70%.
The Mosaic Company (MOS), stated fourth quarter and full year 2018 results and declared a boost of its annual dividend target to $0.20 per share.
Mosaic’s net sales in the fourth quarter of 2018 were $2.50B, contrast to $2.10B last year, mainly driven by the acquisition of Vale Fertilizantes and higher realized prices, partially offset by a decline in phosphates sales volumes. Operating earnings during the quarter were $258.0M, contrast with $127.0M a year ago, as margin per tonne increased in Potash, Phosphates, and Mosaic Fertilizantes.
Cash flow offered by operating activities in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $191.0M contrast to $411.0M in the prior year, mainly as a result of unfavorable working capital changes. Capital expenditures totaled $328.0M in the quarter. Cash flow offered by operating activities for full year 2018 was $1.45B, contrast to $936.0M in 2017. Mosaic’s total cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash, were $848.0M and long-term debt was $4.50B as of December 31, 2018.
Other:
Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) expenses were $90.0M for the fourth quarter, up from $83.0M last year, as a result of the acquisition of Vale Ferilizantes in Brazil. Other Operating Expense was $118.0M, up from $70.0M last year, mainly as a result of higher asset retirement obligation costs and the write off of deferred engineering costs in relation to planned decisions the Company has made.
Full year 2018 results (unaudited):
Net sales were $9.60B, up from $7.40B a year ago. Full-year operating earnings were $928.0M, up from $466.0M last year, driven by higher margins across the business, and higher sales volumes in the Potash and Mosaic Fertilizantes segments.
Full-year SG&A expenses were $341.0M in 2018 as compared to $301.0M in 2017 because of Mosaic’s increased global footprint with the addition of Mosaic Fertilizantes. Other Operating Expense was $229.0M contrast to $76.0M in the year-ago period, driven by higher asset retirement obligation costs, the write-off of deferred engineering costs, and acquisition, integration and synergy related expenses. In addition, in the prior year we sold land for a gain of about $52.0M.
Net cash offered by operating activities was $1.45B and capital expenditures were $993.0M.
Financial Guidance:
The Company initiated full year 2019 adjusted EBITDA guidance at $2.2 to $2.40B, and adjusted earnings per share at $2.10 to $2.50. Adjusted EBITDA is Net Income (Loss) before net interest expense, depreciation, depletion and amortization, asset retirement obligation accretion, stock compensation, adjusted for notable items, and provision for/(benefit) from income taxes. Adjusted EPS is net earnings per share, adjusted for notable items.
MOS has a market value of $10.33B while its EPS was booked as $1.21 in the last 12 months. The stock has 382.71M shares outstanding. In the profitability analysis, the company has gross profit margin of 15.60% while net profit margin was 4.90%. Beta value of the company was 1.46; beta is used to measure riskiness of the security. Analyst recommendation for this stock stands at 2.40.
