Mosaic profit up, will cut fertilizer output

NEW YORK (Reuters) - North American fertilizer company Mosaic Co (MOS.N) said on Monday its quarterly profit jumped, boosted by rising potash and phosphate sales, but said it would cut output and expected weak results for its current quarter.

Global crop nutrient sales fell sharply at the end of its fiscal quarter, the company said, and were expected to remain weak through February.

"Because of these conditions, we are reducing our production to manage excess inventories, reducing capital expenditures, and working to maintain financial strength and flexibility," Jim Prokopanko, Mosaic's president and chief executive, said in a statement.

Net earnings for the quarter ended November 30 rose to $959.8 million, or $2.15 per share, from $394 million, or 89 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

The current earnings included a gain of $1.03 per share from the $1.6 billion sale of its interest in nitrogen fertilizer company Saskferco, as well as a 41 cent charge for the write-down of inventories.

Excluding one-time items, the company posted earnings of $1.56 per share, topping the $1.36 per share that analysts had forecast, according to Reuters Estimates.

Net sales in the quarter rose nearly 37 percent to $3.0 billion.

Shares in Mosaic rose 1.2 percent in after hours trading to $37.30 per share.

(Reporting by Matt Daily, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)