Retail stores cushion Agrium

Article Excerpt

The recent breakup of a marketing alliance between potash producers in Russia and Belarus could cut the commodity’s price by 20%. The move has already hurt the prices of fertilizer stocks. Unlike its fertilizer-making competitors, Agrium derived just 4% of its revenue and 8% of its earnings from potash in 2012. Agrium also gets most of its revenue from its retail stores, which sell fertilizer and other goods to farmers. That cuts its exposure to volatile fertilizer prices. AGRIUM INC. $87 (Toronto symbol AGU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 147.0 million; Market cap: $12.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 3.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.agrium.com) has expanded its retail operations in the past few years. This business is now the world’s largest seller of seeds, fertilizers and other products to farmers, with over 1,200 stores in North America, Australia, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil. In 2012, the retail division accounted for 65% of Agrium’s revenue and 32% of…