OREANDA-NEWS. August 15, 2013. Agrium Inc. (TSX and NYSE: AGU) announced consolidated net earnings (“net earnings”) of USD 747-million (USD 5.02 diluted earnings per share) for the second quarter of 2013, compared with net earnings of USD 860-million in the second quarter of 2012 (USD 5.44 diluted earnings per share).

The 2013 second quarter results included a pre-tax share-based payments recovery of USD 30-million (USD 0.15 diluted earnings per share), pre-tax proxy defense costs of USD 12-million (\\$0.06 diluted earnings per share), and a pre-tax loss of USD 3-million on natural gas and other hedge positions (USD 0.01 diluted earnings per share). Excluding these items, net earnings would have been USD 736-million (USD 4.94 diluted earnings per share).

“Agrium delivered our second highest gross profit of USD 1.7-billion and quarterly Adjusted EBITDA2 of \\$ USD 1.2-billion due to the strength of our leading position across the crop input value chain. The cold, wet weather experienced in North America this spring resulted in a compressed spring application season and Agrium rose to this challenge by delivering crop input products and services to our customers in a highly efficient manner. This highlights the strength of our production and distribution assets and our ability to deliver significant value to our customers,” said Mike Wilson, Agrium President and CEO.

“We expect solid demand for crop inputs in the second half of 2013 given positive grower sentiment, strong nutrient removal this year and the affordability of crop nutrients,” added Mr. Wilson.

As of July 31, 2013, we have purchased approximately 2 million shares at an average price of approximately USD 88 per share for total consideration of approximately USD 179-million under our normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”). Under the NCIB entered into on May 14, 2013, we may purchase for cancellation up to approximately 7.5 million of our currently issued and outstanding common shares until May 20, 2014. The actual number of shares purchased will be at Agrium’s discretion and will depend on market conditions, share prices, Agrium’s cash position and other factors.