Yara Q4 lags forecast, dividend jumps

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OSLO (Reuters) -Norwegian fertiliser maker Yara posted weaker than expected fourth quarter core profits on Tuesday while the board proposed raising its full-year dividend by more than analysts had predicted.

October-December earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding one-off items, rose to $765 million from $511 million a year ago, while analysts in a company-provided poll had expected profits of $1.0 billion.

The price of fertilisers soared last year along with that of natural gas, a key input in the making of ammonia-based crop nutrients, triggering warnings of global food price inflation https://www.reuters.com/article/yara-intl-results-idUSKBN2HA14O.

Adding to the cost pressure are Western sanctions on Belarus https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/potash-importers-brace-prolonged-price-rally-after-sanctions-belarus-2021-12-21, the world's second largest producer of potash fertiliser, which forced major distributor Yara to stop buying https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/norways-yara-stop-buying-potash-belarus-due-sanctions-2022-01-10/#:~:text=OSLO%2C%20Jan%2010%20(Reuters),impossible%20to%20continue%20the%20trade the product from that country.

"High and volatile natural gas prices continue to pose a challenge for the nitrogen industry in Europe, adding to global food security concerns in a situation with already tight supply across the main nutrients," Yara said in a statement.

The board plans to pay an annual dividend of 30 Norwegian crowns per share to owners, up from 20 crowns the previous year and more than the 28.50 crowns expected by analysts.