Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT) has reported a 98.67 percent jump in profit for the quarter ended Mar. 31, 2017. The company has earned $149 million, or $0.18 a share in the quarter, compared with $75 million, or $0.09 a share for the same period last year.

Revenue during the quarter dropped 8.02 percent to $1,112 million from $1,209 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 475 basis points over the previous year period to 24.10 percent. Total expenses were 80.13 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 86.85 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 672 basis points in operating margin to 19.87 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $221 million, compared with $159 million in the previous year period.

However, the adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $402 million compared with $385 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA margin improved 431 basis points in the quarter to 36.15 percent from 31.84 percent in the last year period.

“Potash market fundamentals continued to improve in the first quarter, creating a supportive earnings environment," said PotashCorp president and chief executive officer Jochen Tilk. "We expect improved consumption trends and nutrient affordability in key markets to support potash demand and our results through the remainder of 2017. “Our potash portfolio optimization and cost reduction strategy, which includes the ramp-up of our low-cost Rocanville mine, also contributed to stronger first-quarter results. We are well into our Canpotex2 allocation audit process at Rocanville and anticipate our sales entitlement will increase for the second half of the year. “We are also making good progress on our merger of equals with Agrium.3 We continue to work through the regulatory process in key jurisdictions and remain confident the transaction will close mid-2017. Our integration teams are working hard to position the combined company for growth ��" including achievement of our synergy targets ��" and to ensure we can create value for all our stakeholders,” said Tilk.

For financial year 2017, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.45 to $0.65.

The company has spent $132 million cash to meet investing activities during the quarter as against cash outgo of $246 million in the last year period.

The company has spent $61 million cash to carry out financing activities during the quarter as against cash inflow of $41 million in the last year period.

Cash and cash equivalents stood at $62 million as on Mar. 31, 2017, down 16.22 percent or $12 million from $74 million on Mar. 31, 2016.