Nutrien president and CEO Ken Seitz said supply challenges are part of why the company has put its phosphate division up for strategic review.Liam Richards/Photo Liam Richards
Nutrien Ltd.’s NTR-T strategic review of its phosphate division is part of the fertilizer major’s “unrelenting” focus on cash flow, its chief executive Ken Seitz said in an interview Thursday.
Nutrien announced the review of its phosphate business in its third-quarter earnings Wednesday night. With two mines and four upgrade facilities located across the United States, the Saskatchewan-based mining giant is the second-largest phosphate producer in North America. The division is valued at US$2.4-billion, according to Royal Bank of Canada analyst reports.
It is one of four divisions within the company and – should it sell – this would be the largest divestiture since the company announced its new strategic plan in June, 2024.
Nutrien is not necessarily poised to sell, Mr. Seitz said. The review would also consider reconfiguring operations and strategic partnerships. But the timing is just right for the phosphate division to hit the market, he said. On Friday, the White House will publish an expanded critical minerals list, which phosphate has been added to.
This should be a boom for the phosphate division’s price while Nutrien focuses on shareholder returns and slashing capital expenses, Mr. Seitz said. The phosphate business is no longer necessarily a core asset to the company, he said.
“We’ll still be competitive to the grower,” he said, referring to Nutrien’s 600,000 farmer accounts worldwide. “And we’ll do it in a way that maximizes free cash flow per share. The sale of phosphate doesn’t change that story.”
Nutrien considers selling phosphate business in bid to boost long-term value
Nutrien’s phosphate mines are located in White Springs, Fla., and Aurora, N.C. At these locations, Nutrien unearths phosphate from underground deposits that are formed by marine sediment. At four upgrade facilities, Nutrien then transforms the phosphate rock into solid and liquid fertilizer essential for plant photosynthesis. (Phosphate, potash and nitrogen form the fertilizer holy trinity pivotal to all major agricultural production worldwide.)
Phosphate is also transformed into animal feed, where it is key to muscle repair and skeletal development, and it is used in soft drinks and food additives.
Phosphate is the smallest of Nutrien’s four divisions. The company is divided into its three fertilizer components – potash, nitrogen and phosphate – and its retail division, which operates 1,900 stores across North America, Australia and South America. Phosphate contributed only around 9 per cent to the company’s net sales in the first three quarters of 2025.
In 2024, the division generated US$384-million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA. Nitrogen and potash each generated upward of US$1.8-billion. The agricultural retail side of the business generated US$1.7-billion.
The phosphate division has also been plagued by challenges recently. In 2024, sales volumes sunk from almost US$2-billion in 2023 to US$1.7-billion, largely because Category 4 Hurricane Helene slammed Florida in late September and temporarily shuttered the plant. The hurricane also cost Nutrien in water treatment costs.
Supply challenges are part of why Nutrien has put the division up for strategic review, Mr. Seitz said. But demand fundamentals are strong, he said, arguing that the phosphate market is tight and will continue to be so, as a record corn crop across North America and Brazil drained the soil of nutrients.
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This decision is therefore part of a much broader strategy to review all assets and reduce controllable costs across all operations and corporate functions by US$200-million, a plan the company committed to at an investor day in June, 2024.
Other major divestments include Nutrien’s disposal of its remaining equity ownership investment in Sinofert Holdings Ltd., a leading Chinese fertilizer enterprise. Total proceeds from the sale were US$193-million.
This past September, Nutrien also announced it would sell its 50-per-cent equity position in Argentina-based nitrogen producer Profertil SA for approximately US$600-million.
In Brazil, Nutrien has also sold 54 unproductive retail locations (leaving 60 remaining locations) and cut staff by more than 700 people. The region is now on track to be cash flow neutral for the year, Mr. Seitz said.
On Oct. 23, the company shut down its nitrogen plant in Trinidad. There will be no more sales from Trinidad for the rest of the year, and Nutrien says it is focused on getting back a reliable and affordable source of natural gas and access to the port after Trinidad and Tobago’s National Energy Corp. imposed restrictions. Mr. Seitz did not rule out a sale, stating that there are “several possible futures” for this part of the business.
With regards to acquisitions, Nutrien is currently eyeing a new location for an export terminal. The company is weighing ports along the Pacific Northwest, including locations in the U.S. and Canada. Streamlining regulations will be key to a Canadian location winning the bid.
“Anything that leads to sort of a streamlined regulatory environment, from a tax point of view, invites further investment into the sector and export channels,” Mr. Seitz said.
Nutrien’s major North American rival for phosphate is the Mosaic Co., the top producer and supplier of two-thirds of the phosphate fertilizer used by American farmers. Mosaic accounts for 61 per cent of North American phosphate production. Nutrien’s facilities account for 23 per cent. The rest is made up by Itafos Inc., a fertilizer company headquartered in Houston.
With reports from Andrew Willis