Nutrien appointed a company insider to be its next chief financial officer as the world’s largest fertilizer producer looks to turn around profits amid an industry downturn.
Mark Thompson, the current executive vice president and chief commercial officer, is set to take over as CFO, effective Aug. 26. He is succeeding Pedro Farah, who plans to stay with Nutrien through the end of the year as an advisor.
Since joining Nutrien in 2011, Thompson has worked across all of the company’s business units — Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potash and Retail — in executive and senior leadership roles.
“Mark’s impressive track record of execution, along with his proven financial and strategic acumen provides the unique ability to succeed in this position on day one,” Ken Seitz, Nutrien’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “He brings in-depth knowledge of our business that will support the advancement of our strategic actions to enhance quality of earnings and cash flow.”
Recently, fertilizer makers have faced market pressures from weaker retail selling prices, hurting profitability as farmers delay planting for cost and weather-related reasons. Nutrien’s earnings declined 13% to $392 million in the second quarter over last year as demand fluctuated for nitrogen, phosphate and potash. Lower pricing offset lower natural gas costs for nitrogen and record-high sales volumes for potash.
As demand for fertilizer picks up in North America, Nutrien has also faced challenges in Brazil, where the company has curtailed production and closed 21 selling locations.
Looking ahead, fertilizer companies are expecting demand to be strong in North America as crop inputs become more affordable for farms. In the earnings report, Nutrien said it anticipates “good affordability for potash and nitrogen will support fall application rates this year.”
