CF Industries climbs after profit beats estimates

CF Industries Holdings Inc., the target of a hostile takeover attempt by rival fertilizer producer Agrium Inc., rose in New York after second-quarter profit beat analysts' estimates.

CF rose $3.19, or 4 percent, to $82 at 5:24 p.m. after the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The Deerfield-based maker of nitrogen fertilizer had increased 60 percent this year through today's close of $78.81.

Net income fell to $213 million, or $4.33 a share, from $288.6 million, or $5.01, a year earlier, the company said today in a statement. Profit excluding one-time items was $4.15 a share, topping the $2.73 average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

"Faced with adverse weather conditions throughout much of the U.S. Midwest, and high inventories at the distributor and retail levels, we moved aggressively to tap export markets for phosphate and nitrogen products," Chief Executive Officer Stephen R. Wilson said in the statement.

CF has rebuffed Agrium's takeover advances since the Calgary-based competitor made an unsolicited buyout offer in February. Agrium has raised the cash portion of its bid twice and currently is offering $40 and one Agrium share for each CF share.