mos-20221231
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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 10-K
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☒ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the year ended December 31, 2022
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from _____ to _____
Commission file number001-32327
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The Mosaic Company
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
______________________________
101 East Kennedy Blvd
Suite 2500
Tampa, Florida33602
(800) 918-8270
(Address and zip code of principal executive offices and registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
______________________________
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Trading symbol Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share MOS New York Stock Exchange
______________________________
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: NONE
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports); and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one): Large accelerated filer☒ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b) ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As of June 30, 2022, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting common stock held by stockholders, other than directors, executive officers, subsidiaries of the Registrant and any other person known by the Registrant as of the date hereof to beneficially own ten percent or more of any class of Registrant’s outstanding voting common stock, and consisting of shares of Common Stock, was approximately $14.8 billion based upon the closing price of a share of Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange on that date.
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Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock: 336,486,715 shares of Common Stock as of February 17, 2023.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
1.Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be delivered in conjunction with the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (Part III)
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2022 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K CONTENTS
Part I: Page
Item 1. Business 1
• Overview 1
• Business Segment Information 3
• Sales and Distribution Activities 14
• Competition 15
• Factors Affecting Demand 17
• Other Matters 17
• Executive Officers 20
Item 1A. Risk Factors 22
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 35
Item 2. Properties 36
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 85
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 86
Part II:
Item 6. Reserved 88
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 88
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 88
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 88
Item 9B. Other Information 89
Part III:
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 90
Item 11. Executive Compensation 90
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 90
Part IV.
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 91
Item 16. Annual Report on Form 10-K Summary 97
Signatures S-1
Financial Table of Contents F-1
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PART I.
Item 1. Business.
OVERVIEW
The Mosaic Company is the world’s leading producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Through our broad product offering, we are a single source supplier of phosphate- and potash-based crop nutrients and animal feed ingredients. We serve customers in approximately 40 countries. We are the second largest integrated phosphate producer in the world and one of the largest producers and marketers of phosphate-based animal feed ingredients in North America and Brazil. We are the leading fertilizer production and distribution company in Brazil. We mine phosphate rock in Florida, Brazil and Peru. We process rock into finished phosphate products at facilities in Florida, Louisiana and Brazil. We are typically one of the top four global potash producers in the world. In 2022, we were the second-largest producer, with our position lifted by reduced production in Belarus and Russia. We mine potash in Saskatchewan, New Mexico and Brazil. We have other production, blending or distribution operations in Brazil, China, India and Paraguay, as well as a strategic equity investment in a joint venture that operates a phosphate rock mine and chemical complexes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Our operations serve the top four nutrient-consuming countries in the world: China, India, U.S. and Brazil.
The Mosaic Company is a Delaware corporation that was incorporated in March 2004 and serves as the parent company of the business that was formed through the October 2004 combination of IMC Global Inc. (“IMC”) and the fertilizer businesses of Cargill, Incorporated. We are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “MOS” and are headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
We conduct our business through wholly- and majority-owned subsidiaries as well as businesses in which we own less than a majority or a non-controlling interest. We are organized into three reportable business segments: Phosphates, Potash and Mosaic Fertilizantes. Intersegment eliminations, unrealized mark-to-market gains/losses on derivatives, debt expenses, Streamsong Resort® results of operations, and the results of the China and India distribution businesses are included within Corporate, Eliminations and Other.
The following charts show the respective contributions to 2022 sales volumes, net sales and gross margin for each of our business segments in effect at December 31, 2022:
We account for approximately 12% of estimated global annual phosphate production. We also account for approximately 14% of estimated global annual potash production.
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Phosphates Segment–We sell phosphate-based crop nutrients and animal feed ingredients throughout North America and internationally. We account for approximately 69% of estimated North American annual production of concentrated phosphate crop nutrients.
Potash Segment–We sell potash throughout North America and internationally, principally as fertilizer, but also for use in industrial applications and, to a lesser degree, as animal feed ingredients. We account for approximately 35% of estimated North American annual potash production.
Mosaic Fertilizantes Segment–We produce and sell phosphate- and potash-based crop nutrients, and animal feed ingredients, in Brazil. In addition to five phosphate rock mines, four chemical plants and a potash mine in Brazil, this segment consists of sales offices, crop nutrient blending and bagging facilities, port terminals and warehouses in Brazil and Paraguay. The Mosaic Fertilizantes segment also serves as a distribution outlet for our Phosphates and Potash segments. We account for approximately 72% of estimated annual production of concentrated phosphate crop nutrients in Brazil and 93% of estimated annual potash production in Brazil.
As used in this report:
•“Mosaic” or “Company” means The Mosaic Company;
•“we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Mosaic and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, individually or in any combination;
•“Cargill” means Cargill, Incorporated and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, individually or in any combination;
•“Cargill Crop Nutrition” means the crop nutrient business we acquired from Cargill in the Combination;
•“Combination” means the October 22, 2004 combination of IMC and Cargill Crop Nutrition; and
statements as to our industry position reflect information from the most recent period available.
Business Developments during 2022
•In the first quarter of 2022, our Board of Directors approved the establishment of a new $1.0 billion share repurchase authorization, which was completed in the second quarter of 2022. Our Board of Directors authorized an additional $2.0 billion share repurchase program in the third quarter of 2022.
•During 2022, we repurchased 30,810,173 shares of Common Stock in the open market for approximately $1.7 billion. This includes 7,056,229 shares we purchased under an accelerated share repurchase agreement in 2022.
•In the first quarter of 2022, our Board of Directors approved a regular dividend increase to $0.60 per share annually from $0.45, beginning with the second quarter of 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, our Board of Directors increased the dividend to $0.80 per share annually, beginning with the dividend declared on December 16, 2022.
•In November 2022, we paid the outstanding balance of $550 million on our 3.25% senior notes, due November 15, 2022, without premium or penalty.
On January 12, 2023, we completed the sale of the Streamsong Resort® (the “Resort”) and approximately 7,000 acres of land on which it sits for a purchase price of $160 million. The Resort is a destination resort and conference center, which we developed in an area of previously mined land as part of our long-term business strategy to maximize the value and utility of our extensive land holdings in Florida. In addition to a hotel and conference center, the Resort includes multiple golf courses, a clubhouse and ancillary facilities.
Subsequent to year end, our Board of Directors approved an accelerated share repurchase (“ASR”) of $300 million which is expected to be initiated in the first quarter of 2023. Also, in February 2023, the Board of Directors approved a special dividend of $0.25 per share to be distributed in March, 2023 to our stockholders of record as of March 15, 2023.
We have included additional information about these and other developments in our business during 2022 in our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“Management’s Analysis”) and in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Throughout the discussion below, we measure units of production, sales and raw materials in metric tonnes, which are the equivalent of 2,205 pounds, or 1.102 tons (U.S. standard), unless we specifically state that we mean short or long ton(s), which are the equivalent of 2,000 pounds and 2,240 pounds, respectively. In addition, we measure natural gas, a raw material
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used in the production of our products, in MM BTU, which stands for one million British Thermal Units (“BTU”). One BTU is equivalent to 1.06 Joules.
Information concerning our mining properties in this Annual Report on Form 10-K has been prepared in accordance with Subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K (“S-K 1300”). S-K 1300 requires us to disclose our mineral resources, in addition to our mineral reserves, as of the end of our most recently completed fiscal year, both in the aggregate and for each of our individually material mining properties. We have four material properties: Belle Plaine, Esterhazy, Florida and Tapira. See Item 2. “Properties,” for further information regarding mineral reserves and resource and discussion of our material mining properties.
This report includes market share and industry data and forecasts that we obtained from publicly available information and industry publications, surveys, market research, internal company surveys and consultant surveys. We believe these sources to be reliable, but there can be no assurance as to the accuracy and completeness of such information. We have not independently verified the data from third-party sources, nor have we ascertained the underlying economic assumptions relied upon therein. Similarly, internal company surveys, industry forecasts and market research, which we believe to be reliable based upon management’s knowledge of the industry, have not been verified by any independent sources.
BUSINESS SEGMENT INFORMATION
The discussion below of our business segment operations should be read in conjunction with the following information that we have included in this report:
•The risk factors discussed in this report in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors”.
•Our Management’s Analysis.
•The financial statements and supplementary financial information in our Consolidated Financial Statements (“Consolidated Financial Statements”).
This information is incorporated by reference into this section from Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”.
Phosphates Segment
Our Phosphates business segment owns and operates mines and production facilities in Florida which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients and phosphate-based animal feed ingredients, and processing plants in Louisiana which produce concentrated phosphate crop nutrients. We have a 75% economic interest in the Miski Mayo Phosphate Mine in Peru (“Miski Mayo Mine”), which is included in the results of our Phosphates segment.
The following map shows the locations of each of our phosphate concentrates plants in the U.S. and each of our active, temporarily idled, and planned phosphate mine locations, including beneficiation plants, in Florida. The reserves associated with our Ona, Florida location have been allocated to other active mines based on our future mining plans:
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U.S. Phosphate Crop Nutrients and Animal Feed Ingredients
Our U.S. Phosphate operations have capacity to produce approximately 4.5 million tonnes of phosphoric acid (“P2O5”) per year, or about 7% of world annual capacity and about 60% of North American annual capacity. P2O5 is produced by reacting finely ground phosphate rock with sulfuric acid. P2O5 is the key building block for the production of high analysis or concentrated phosphate crop nutrients and animal feed products and is the most comprehensive measure of phosphate capacity and production and a commonly used benchmark in our industry. Our U.S. P2O5 production totaled approximately 3.0 million tonnes during 2022. Our U.S. operations account for approximately 7% of estimated global annual production and 50% of estimated North American annual output.
Our phosphate crop nutrient products are marketed worldwide to crop nutrient manufacturers, distributors, retailers and farmers. Our principal phosphate crop nutrient products are:
•Diammonium Phosphate (18-46-0): Diammonium Phosphate (“DAP”) is the most widely used high-analysis phosphate crop nutrient worldwide. DAP is produced by first combining phosphoric acid with anhydrous ammonia in a reaction vessel. This initial reaction creates a slurry that is then pumped into a granulation plant where it is reacted with additional ammonia to produce DAP. DAP is a solid granular product that is applied directly or blended with other solid plant nutrient products, such as urea and potash.
•Monoammonium Phosphate (11-52-0): Monoammonium Phosphate (“MAP”) is the second most widely used high-analysis phosphate crop nutrient and the fastest growing phosphate product worldwide. MAP is also produced by first combining phosphoric acid with anhydrous ammonia in a reaction vessel. The resulting slurry is then pumped into the granulation plant where it is reacted with additional P2O5 to produce MAP. MAP is a solid granular product that is applied directly or blended with other solid plant nutrient products.
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•MicroEssentials® is a value-added ammoniated phosphate product that is enhanced through a patented process that creates very thin platelets of sulfur and other micronutrients, such as zinc, on the granulated product. The patented process incorporates both the sulfate and elemental forms of sulfur, providing season-long availability to crops.
Production of our animal feed ingredients products is located at our New Wales, Florida facility. We market our feed phosphate primarily under the leading brand names of Biofos® and Nexfos®.
Annual capacity by plant as of December 31, 2022 and production volumes by plant for 2022 are listed below:
Operational Capacity(b) Operational Capacity(b)
Facility Production(c) Production(c)
Florida:
Louisiana:
Uncle Sam 0.8 0.5 — —
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(a)Our ability to produce processed phosphates has been less than our annual operational capacity stated in the table above, except to the extent we purchase P2O5. Factors affecting actual production are described in note (c) below.
(b)Operational capacity is our estimated long-term capacity based on an average amount of scheduled down time, including maintenance and scheduled turnaround time, and product mix, and no significant modifications to operating conditions, equipment or facilities.
(c)Actual production varies from annual operational capacity shown in the above table due to factors that include, among others, the level of demand for our products, maintenance and turnaround time, accidents, mechanical failure, product mix, and other operating conditions.
The P2O5 produced at Uncle Sam is shipped to Faustina, where it is used to produce DAP, MAP and MicroEssentials®. Our Faustina plant also manufactures ammonia that is mostly consumed in our concentrate plants.
We produced approximately 6.3 million tonnes of concentrated phosphate crop nutrients during 2022 and accounted for approximately 69% of estimated North American annual production.
Phosphate Rock
Phosphate rock is the key mineral used to produce phosphate crop nutrients and feed phosphate. Our Florida phosphate rock mines produced approximately 10.5 million tonnes in 2022 and accounted for approximately 47% of estimated North American annual production. We are the world’s second largest miner of phosphate rock (excluding China) and currently operate four mines in North America with a combined annual capacity of approximately 18.0 million tonnes. Additionally, we own 75% of the Miski Mayo Mine, which has an annual capacity of 4.0 million tonnes. Production of one tonne of DAP requires between 1.6 and 1.7 tonnes of phosphate rock.
All of our wholly-owned phosphate mines and related mining operations in North America are located in central Florida. During 2022, we operated three active mines in Florida: Four Corners, South Fort Meade and Wingate. We plan to explore and develop the DeSoto property and the South Pasture property, which was previously idled, to offset future depletion at our Florida properties. We have a 75% economic interest in the Miski Mayo Mine, which allows us to supplement our other produced rock to meet our overall fertilizer production needs and is the primary source of rock for our Louisiana operations. We have the right to use or sell to third parties 75% of the Miski Mayo Mine’s annual production.
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See Item 2. “Properties” for a discussion of our phosphate mining properties, including processing methods, facilities, production and summaries of our mineral resources and reserves, both in the aggregate and for our individual material phosphate mining properties.
Investment in Ma’aden Wa’ad Al Shamal Phosphate Company (“MWSPC”)
We own a 25% interest in MWSPC and, in connection with our equity share, we are entitled to market approximately 25% of MWSPC’s production. MWSPC consists of a mine and two chemical complexes (the “Project”) that produce phosphate fertilizers and other downstream phosphates products in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The greenfield project was built in the northern region of Saudi Arabia at Wa’ad Al Shamal Minerals Industrial City and included further expansion of processing plants in Ras Al Khair Minerals Industrial City, which is located on the east coast of Saudi Arabia. Ammonia operations commenced in late 2016 and on December 1, 2018, MWSPC commenced commercial operations of the phosphate plant, thereby bringing the entire project to the commercial production phase. Phosphate production will ramp-up until it reaches an expected 3.0 million tonnes in annual production capacity. Actual phosphate production was 2.6 million tonnes in 2022. The Project benefits from the availability of key raw nutrients from sources within Saudi Arabia.
Sulfur
We use molten sulfur at our phosphates concentrates plants to produce sulfuric acid, primarily for use in our production of P2O5. We purchased approximately 3.4 million long tons of sulfur during 2022. We purchase the majority of this sulfur from North American oil and natural gas refiners who are required to remove or recover sulfur during the refining process. Production of one tonne of DAP requires approximately 0.40 long tons of sulfur. We procure our sulfur from multiple sources and receive it by truck, rail, barge and vessel, either directly at our phosphate plants or have it sent for gathering to terminals that are located on the U.S. gulf coast. In addition, we use formed sulfur received through Tampa, Florida ports, which are delivered by truck to our New Wales facility and melted through our sulfur melter.
We own and operate a sulfur terminal in Riverview, Florida. We also lease terminal space in Tampa, Florida and Galveston and Beaumont, Texas. We have long-term time charters on two ocean-going tugs/barges and one ocean-going vessel that transports molten sulfur from the Texas terminals to Tampa. We then further transport by truck to our Florida phosphate plants. In addition, we own Gulf Sulphur Services Ltd., LLLP (“Gulf Sulphur Services”), which operates a sulfur transportation and terminaling business in the Gulf of Mexico, and handles these functions for a substantial portion of our Florida sulfur volume. Our sulfur logistic assets also include a large fleet of leased railcars that supplement our marine sulfur logistic system. Our Louisiana operations are served by truck from nearby refineries.
Although sulfur is readily available from many different suppliers and can be transported to our phosphate facilities by a variety of means, sulfur is an important raw material used in our business that has in the past been, and may in the future, be the subject of volatile pricing and availability. Alternative transportation and terminaling facilities might not have sufficient capacity to fully serve all of our facilities in the event of a disruption to current transportation or terminaling facilities. Changes in the price of sulfur or disruptions to sulfur transportation or terminaling facilities could have a material impact on our business. We have included a discussion of sulfur prices in our Management’s Analysis.
Ammonia
We use ammonia together with P2O5 to produce DAP, MAP and MicroEssentials®. We consumed approximately 1.0 million tonnes of ammonia during 2022. Production of one tonne of DAP requires approximately 0.23 tonnes of ammonia. We purchase approximately one-third of our ammonia from various suppliers in the spot market with the remaining two-thirds either purchased through our ammonia supply agreement (the “CF Ammonia Supply Agreement”) with an affiliate of CF Industries Inc. (“CF”) or produced internally at our Faustina, Louisiana location.
Our Florida ammonia needs are currently supplied under multi-year contracts with both domestic and offshore producers. Ammonia for our Bartow and Riverview plants is terminaled through owned ammonia facilities at the Port of Tampa and Port Sutton, Florida. Ammonia for our New Wales plant is terminaled through another ammonia facility owned and operated by a third party at Port Sutton, Florida pursuant to an agreement that provides for service through 2022, with automatic renewal for an additional two-year period unless either party terminates, as provided in the agreement. Ammonia is transported by pipeline from the terminals to our production facilities. We have service agreements with the operators of the pipelines for Bartow, New Wales and Riverview, which provide service through June 30, 2023 with annual auto-renewal provisions unless either party objects.
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Under the CF Ammonia Supply Agreement, we purchased 580,000 metric tonnes in 2022. On October 14, 2022, we received notice from CF to exercise the bilateral, contractual right to end the ammonia supply agreement in its current form, effective January 1, 2025. We are confident that we will continue to have adequate sources of supply for ammonia at competitive pricing, including from CF. We expect a majority of the ammonia purchased under the CF Ammonia Supply Agreement to be received by barge at the Port of Tampa and delivered to our Florida facilities as described in the preceding paragraph.
We produce ammonia at Faustina, Louisiana primarily for our own consumption. Our annual capacity is approximately 530,000 tonnes. From time to time, we sell surplus ammonia to unrelated parties and/or may transport surplus ammonia to the Port of Tampa. In addition, under certain circumstances we are permitted to receive ammonia at Faustina under the CF Ammonia Supply Agreement.
Although ammonia is readily available from many different suppliers and can be transported to our Phosphate facilities by a variety of means, ammonia is an important raw material used in our business that has in the past been, and may in the future be, the subject of volatile pricing. In addition, alternative transportation and terminaling facilities might not have sufficient capacity to fully serve all of our facilities in the event of a disruption to existing transportation or terminaling facilities. Changes in the price of ammonia or disruptions to ammonia transportation or terminaling could have a material impact on our business. We have included a discussion of ammonia prices in our Management’s Analysis.
Natural Gas for Phosphates
Natural gas is the primary raw material used to manufacture ammonia. At our Faustina facility, ammonia is manufactured on site. The majority of natural gas is purchased through firm delivery contracts based on published index-based prices and is sourced from Texas and Louisiana via pipelines interconnected to the Henry Hub. We use over-the-counter swap and/or option contracts to forward price portions of future natural gas purchases. We typically purchase approximately 11.4 million MM BTU of natural gas per year for use in ammonia production at Faustina.
Our ammonia requirements for our Florida operations are purchased rather than manufactured on site. Therefore, while we typically purchase approximately 2.7 million MM BTU of natural gas per year in Florida, it is only used as a thermal fuel for various phosphate production processes.
Florida Land Holdings
We are a significant landowner in the State of Florida, which has in the past been considered one of the fastest areas of population growth in the U.S. We own land comprising over 351,000 acres held in fee simple title in central Florida and have the right to mine additional properties which contain phosphate rock reserves. Some of our land holdings are needed to operate our Phosphates business, while a portion of our land assets, such as certain reclaimed properties, are no longer required for our ongoing operations. As a general matter, more of our reclaimed property becomes available for uses other than for phosphate operations each year. Our real property assets are generally comprised of concentrates plants, port facilities, phosphate mines and other property which we have acquired through our presence in Florida. Our long-term future land use strategy is to optimize the value of our land assets. For example, we developed Streamsong Resort® (the “Resort”), a destination resort and conference center, in an area of previously mined land as part of our long-term business strategy to maximize the value and utility of our extensive land holdings in Florida. In addition to a hotel and conference center, the Resort includes multiple golf courses, a clubhouse and ancillary facilities. On January 12, 2023, we completed the sale of the Resort and approximately 7,000 acres of land on which it sits to Lone Windmill LLC, a subsidiary of Kemper Sports Management LLC, for a purchase price of $160 million. See Note 27, Subsequent Events, in the accompanying consolidated financial statements for further information.
Potash Segment
We are one of the leading potash producers in the world. We mine and process potash in Canada and the U.S. and sell potash in North America and internationally. The term “potash” applies generally to the common salts of potassium. Muriate of potash (“MOP”) is the primary source of potassium for the crop nutrient industry. Red MOP has traces of iron oxide. The granular and standard grade red MOP products are well suited for direct fertilizer application and bulk blending. White MOP has a higher percent potassium oxide (“K2O”). White MOP, besides being well suited for the agricultural market, is used in many industrial applications. We also produce a double sulfate of potash magnesia product, which we market under our brand name K-Mag®, at our Carlsbad, New Mexico facility.
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Our potash products are marketed worldwide to crop nutrient manufacturers, distributors and retailers and are also used in the manufacturing of mixed crop nutrients and, to a lesser extent, in animal feed ingredients. We also sell potash to customers for industrial use. In addition, our potash products are used for de-icing and as a water softener regenerant.
In 2022, we operated three potash mines in Canada, including two shaft mines and one solution mine, as well as one potash shaft mine in the U.S.. In 2022, the decommissioning of the K1 and K2 shafts at our Esterhazy, Saskatchewan mine was completed after their shutdown in the second quarter of 2021. Capacity and production from these shafts was replaced by the K3 expansion. In the third quarter of 2021, we restarted the Colonsay, Saskatchewan mine to meet market demand for potash.
Mosaic leases approximately 291,500 acres of mineral rights from the government of Saskatchewan, and approximately 99,700 acres of freehold mineral rights in the Kronau/Regina area, which have not been developed.
We pay Canadian resource taxes consisting of the Potash Production Tax and resource surcharge. The Potash Production Tax is a Saskatchewan provincial tax on potash production and consists of a base payment and a profits tax. We also pay a percentage of the value of resource sales from our Saskatchewan mines. In addition to the Canadian resource taxes, royalties are payable to the mineral owners in respect of potash reserves or production of potash. We have included a further discussion of the Canadian resource taxes and royalties in our Management’s Analysis.
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The map below shows the location of each of our potash properties:
Our North American potash annualized operational capacity totals 11.2 million tonnes of product per year and accounts for approximately 14% of world annual capacity and 34% of North American annual capacity. Production during 2022 totaled 9.0 million tonnes. We account for approximately 14% of estimated world annual production and 35% of estimated North American annual production.
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The following table shows, for each of our potash mines, annual capacity as of December 31, 2022 and finished product output for 2022:
(tonnes in millions)
Canada
United States
United States Total 0.9 0.7 0.6
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(a)Finished product.
(b)Actual production varies from annual operational capacity shown in the above table due to factors that include, among others, the level of demand for our products, maintenance and turnaround time, the quality of the reserves and the nature of the geologic formations we are mining at any particular time, accidents, mechanical failure, product mix, and other operating conditions.
(c)Represents full capacity assuming no turnaround or maintenance time.
(d)The annualized proven peaking capacity shown above is the capacity currently used to determine our share of Canpotex, Limited (“Canpotex”) sales. Canpotex members’ respective shares of Canpotex sales are based upon the members’ respective proven peaking capacities for producing potash. When a Canpotex member expands its production capacity, the new capacity is added to that member’s proven peaking capacity based on a proving run at the maximum production level. Alternatively, Canpotex members may elect to rely on an independent engineering firm and approved protocols to calculate their proven peaking capacity. The annual operational capacity reported in the table above can exceed the annualized proven peaking capacity until the proving run has been completed. Our entitlement percentage of Canpotex is 36.2%.
(e)Annual operational capacity is our estimated long-term potash capacity based on the quality of reserves and the nature of the geologic formations expected to be mined, milled and/or processed over the long term, average amount of scheduled down time, including maintenance and scheduled turnaround time, and product mix, and no significant modifications to operating conditions, equipment or facilities. Operational capacities will continue to be updated to the extent new production results impact ore grades assumptions.
(f)We have the ability to reach an annual operating capacity of 2.1 million tonnes over time by increasing our staffing levels and investment in mine development activities. Our Colonsay mine operates as a swing mine to meet market demands.
(g)In June, 2021, we permanently ceased operations at the K1 and K2 mine shafts. The annual operational capacity of Esterhazy has remained consistent following the K1 and K2 closures as capacity from the K3 mine shafts has replaced K1 and K2.
(h)K-Mag® is a specialty product that we produce at our Carlsbad facility.
See Item 2, “Properties” for a discussion of our potash mining properties, including processing methods, facilities, production and summaries of our mineral resources and reserves, both in the aggregate and for our individual material potash mining properties.
Natural Gas
Natural gas is used at our Belle Plaine solution mine as a fuel to produce steam and to dry potash products. The steam is used to generate electricity and provide thermal energy to the evaporation, crystallization and solution mining processes. The Belle Plaine solution mine typically accounts for approximately 80% of our Potash segment’s total natural gas requirements for potash production. At our shaft mines, natural gas is used as a fuel to heat fresh air supplied to the shaft mines and for drying potash products. Combined natural gas usage for both the solution and shaft mines totaled 17.7 million MM BTU during 2022. We purchase our natural gas requirements on firm delivery index price-based physical contracts and on short-term spot-priced physical contracts. Our Canadian operations purchase physical natural gas from companies in Alberta and Saskatchewan using AECO price indices references and transport the gas to our plants via the TransGas pipeline system. The U.S. potash operation in New Mexico purchases physical gas in the southwest respective regional market using the El Paso
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San Juan Basin market pricing reference. We use financial derivative contracts to manage the pricing on portions of our natural gas requirements.
Mosaic Fertilizantes Segment
Our Mosaic Fertilizantes segment owns and operates mines, chemical plants, crop nutrient blending and bagging facilities, port terminals and warehouses in Brazil and Paraguay, which produce and sell concentrated phosphates crop nutrients, phosphate-based animal feed ingredients and potash fertilizer. The following map shows the locations of our operations in Brazil and Paraguay:
We are the largest producer and one of the largest distributors of blended crop nutrients for agricultural use in Brazil. We produce and sell phosphate- and potash-based crop nutrients, and animal feed ingredients through our operations. Our operations in Brazil include five phosphate mines, four chemical plants and a potash mine. We own and operate ten blending plants in Brazil and one blending plant and port in Paraguay. In addition, we lease several other warehouses and blending units depending on sales and production levels. We also have a 62% ownership interest in Fospar, S.A. (“Fospar”). Fospar owns and operates an SSP (defined below) granulation plant, which produces approximately 0.5 million tonnes of SSP per year, and a deep-water port and throughput warehouse terminal facility in Paranagua, Brazil. The port facility at Paranagua handles approximately 3.6 million tonnes of imported crop nutrients. In 2022, Mosaic Fertilizantes sold approximately 9.4 million tonnes of crop nutrient products and accounted for approximately 22% of fertilizer shipments in Brazil.
We have the capability to annually produce approximately 4.5 million tonnes of phosphate- and potash-based crop nutrients and animal feed ingredients. Crop nutrient products produced are marketed to crop nutrient manufacturers, distributors, retailers and farmers.
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In addition to producing crop nutrients, Mosaic Fertilizantes purchases phosphates, potash and nitrogen products which are either used to produce blended crop nutrients (“Blends”) or for resale. In 2022, Mosaic Fertilizantes purchased 1.5 million tonnes of phosphate-based products, primarily MicroEssentials®, from our Phosphates segment, and 2.3 million tonnes of potash products from our Potash segment and Canpotex.
Phosphate Crop Nutrients and Animal Feed Ingredients
Our Brazilian phosphates operations have capacity to produce approximately 1.1 million tonnes of P2O5 per year, or about 70% of Brazilian annual capacity. Phosphoric acid is produced by reacting ground phosphate rock with sulfuric acid. P2O5 is the key building block for the production of high analysis or concentrated phosphate crop nutrients and animal feed products and is the most comprehensive measure of phosphate capacity and production and a commonly used benchmark in our industry. Our Brazilian P2O5 production totaled approximately 1.0 million tonnes in 2022 and accounted for approximately 99% of Brazilian annual output.
Our principal phosphate crop nutrient products are:
•Monoammonium Phosphate (11-52-0) (“MAP”): MAP is a crop nutrient composed of two macronutrients, nitrogen and phosphoric acid. This slurry is added inside a rotary drum type granulator with ammonia to complete the neutralization reaction and produce MAP.
•Triple superphosphate (“TSP”): TSP is a highly concentrated phosphate crop nutrient. TSP is produced from the phosphate rock reaction with phosphoric acid in a kuhlmann type reactor. The process for the production of TSP in Brazil is run of pile where the product undergoes a curing process of approximately seven days for later granulation.
•Single superphosphate (“SSP”): SSP is a crop nutrient with a low concentration of phosphorus that is used in agriculture because of the sulfur content in its formulation. SSP is produced from mixing phosphate rock with sulfuric acid in a kuhlmann or malaxador type reactor. After the reaction, the product goes to the curing process and then feeds the granulation units.
•Dicalcium phosphate (“DCP”): Dicalcium phosphate is produced by the reaction of desulphurized phosphoric acid with limestone. At Uberaba, it is produced from the reaction of concentrated phosphoric acid with limestone slurry. At Cajati the phosphoric acid is diluted with dry limestone. The reaction of the DCP occurs in a kuhlmann or spinden type reactor.
Our primary mines and chemical plants are located in the states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Goias. Production of our animal feed ingredients products is located at our Uberaba, Minas Gerais and Cajati, São Paulo facilities. We market our feed phosphate primarily under the brand name Foscálcio.
Annual capacity and production volume by plant as of December 31, 2022 are listed below:
Facility Capacity(b) Production(c) Capacity(b) Production(c)
Phosphate
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(a)Our ability to produce processed phosphates has been less than our annual operational capacity as stated in the table above, except to the extent we purchase phosphoric acid. Factors affecting actual production are described in note (c) below.
(b)The annual production capacity was calculated using the hourly capacity, days stopped for annual maintenance and OEE (historical utilization factor and capacity factor).
(c)Actual production varies from annual operational capacity shown in the table above due to factors that include, among others, the level of demand for our products, maintenance and turnaround time, accidents and mechanical failure.
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The phosphoric acid produced at Cajati is used to produce DCP. The phosphoric acid produced at Uberaba is used to produce MAP, TSP and DCP.
We produced approximately 2.8 million tonnes of concentrated phosphate crop nutrients during 2022 which accounted for approximately 49% of estimated Brazilian annual production.
Phosphate Rock
Phosphate rock is the key mineral used to produce phosphate crop nutrients and animal feed product. Our phosphate rock production in Brazil totaled approximately 4.0 million tonnes in 2022, which accounted for approximately 79% of estimated Brazilian annual production. We are the largest producer of phosphate rock in Brazil and currently operate five properties with a combined annual capacity of approximately 4.6 million tonnes. Production of one tonne of MAP requires 1.6 to 1.7 tonnes of phosphate rock. Production of one tonne of SSP requires between 0.6 to 0.7 tonnes of phosphate rock. Production of one tonne of TSP requires 1.4 tonnes of phosphate rock.
During 2022, we operated five properties; Araxá, Patrocínio and Tapira, in the state of Minas Gerais; Catalão, in the state of Goiás; and Cajati, in the state of São Paulo.
See Item 2, “Properties” for a discussion of our Brazilian mining properties, including processing methods, facilities, production and summaries of our mineral resources and reserves, both in the aggregate and for our individually material Brazilian properties.
We are required to pay royalties to mineral owners and resource taxes to the Brazilian government for phosphate and potash production. The resource taxes, known as Compensação Financeira pela Exploração de Recursos Minerais or CFEM, are regulated bythe National Mining Agency. In 2022, we paid royalties and resource taxes of approximately $18.0 million.
Sulfur
We use molten sulfur at our phosphates concentrates plants to produce sulfuric acid, one of the key components used in the production of phosphoric acid. We consumed approximately 1.2 million long tons of sulfur for our own production during 2022. We purchase approximately 13% of the volume under annual supply agreements from oil and natural gas refiners, who are required to remove or recover sulfur during the refining process. The remaining 87% is purchased in the spot market. Sulfur is imported through the Tiplam port and transported by rail to the Uberaba plant and by truck to the Araxá and Cajati locations.
Although sulfur is readily available from many different suppliers and can be transported to our phosphate facilities by a variety of means, sulfur is an important raw material used in our business that has in the past been, and could in the future be, subject to volatile pricing and availability. Alternative transportation and terminaling facilities might not have sufficient capacity to fully serve all of our facilities in the event of a disruption to current transportation or terminaling facilities. Changes in the price of sulfur or disruptions to sulfur transportation or terminaling facilities could have a material impact on our business.
Ammonia
We use ammonia, together with phosphoric acid, to produce MAP, and to a lesser extent for SSP production. We consumed approximately 137,495 tonnes of ammonia during 2022. Production of one tonne of MAP requires approximately 0.137 tonnes of ammonia. We purchase all of our ammonia under a long-term supply agreement with two suppliers. Ammonia is imported through the Tiplam port and transported by truck to Uberaba, Araxá and Catalão.
We own approximately 1% of the Tiplam terminal in Santos, São Paulo. Our ownership percentage, along with a contractual agreement, guarantee us unloading priority for ammonia and also provide us unloading capacity for rock, sulfur and crop nutrients.
Although ammonia is readily available from many different suppliers and can be transported to our phosphates facilities by a variety of means, ammonia is an important raw material used in our business that has in the past been, and in the future could be, subject to volatile pricing. Alternative transportation and terminaling facilities might not have sufficient capacity to fully serve all of our facilities in the event of a disruption to existing transportation or terminaling facilities. Changes in the price of ammonia or disruptions to ammonia transportation or terminaling could have a material impact on our business.
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Brazilian Potash
We conduct potash operations through the leased Taquari-Vassouras shaft mine, which is the only potash mine in Brazil, located in Rosário do Catete in the Brazilian state of Sergipe. We also own a related refinery at the site. We produce and sell potash product domestically. MOP is the primary source of potassium for the crop nutrient industry in Brazil. Red MOP has traces of iron oxide. The granular and standard grade red MOP products are well-suited for direct fertilizer application and bulk blending. Our potash product is marketed in Brazil to crop nutrient manufacturers, distributors and retailers and is also used in the manufacturing of crop nutrients.
In 2022, we paid royalties of approximately $11.4 million related to the leasing of potash assets and mining rights for Taquari.
Land Holdings
Mosaic Fertilizantes owns the surface rights of certain rural lands comprising over 34,000 hectares (84,000 acres) in the States of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Paraná, Mato Grosso, Santa Catarina, Bahia and Sergipe, and has the right to mine additional properties which contain phosphate rock or potash reserves. Most of our land holdings are needed to operate our phosphate and potash production and fertilizer distribution businesses. A portion of our land assets may no longer be required for our current operations and may be leased to third parties, for agricultural or other purposes, or may be set aside for mineral or environmental conservation. Our real property assets are generally comprised of concentrates plants, port facilities and phosphate and potash mines, crop nutrient blending and bagging facilities and other properties which we have acquired through our presence in Brazil.
India and China Distribution Businesses
Our China and India distribution businesses market phosphate-, potash- and nitrogen-based crop nutrients and provide other ancillary services to wholesalers, cooperatives, independent retailers, and farmers in the Asia-Pacific regions. These operations provide our Phosphates and Potash segments access to key markets outside of North and South America and serve as a marketing agent for our Phosphates segment. In 2022, the India and China operations purchased 523,110 tonnes of phosphate-based products from our Phosphates segment and MWSPC, and 1,344,926 tonnes of potash products from our Potash segment and Canpotex. They also purchase phosphates, potash and nitrogen products from unrelated third parties, which we either use to produce blended crop nutrients or for resale.
In China, we own two 300,000-tonne per year capacity blending plants. In 2022, we sold approximately 230,000 tonnes of Blends and distributed another 825,000 tonnes of phosphate and potash crop nutrients in China.
In India, we have distribution facilities to import and sell crop nutrients. In 2022, we distributed approximately 535,000 tonnes of phosphate and potash crop nutrient products in India.
SALES AND DISTRIBUTION ACTIVITIES
United States and Canada
We have a U.S. and Canada sales and marketing team that serves our business segments. We sell to wholesale distributors, retail chains, cooperatives, independent retailers and national accounts.
Customer service and the ability to effectively minimize the overall supply chain costs are key competitive factors in the crop nutrient and animal feed ingredients businesses. In addition to our production facilities, to service the needs of our customers, we own or have contractual throughput or other arrangements at strategically located distribution warehouses along or near the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, as well as in other key agricultural regions of the U.S. and Canada. From these facilities, we distribute Mosaic-produced phosphate and potash products for customers who in turn resell the product into the distribution channel or directly to farmers in the U.S. and Canada.
We own port facilities in Tampa, Florida which have deep water berth capabilities providing access to the Gulf of Mexico. We also own warehouse distribution facilities in: Rosemount, Minnesota; Pekin, Illinois; and Henderson, Kentucky. In 2022, we sold our warehouse facility in Savage, Minnesota.
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In addition to the facilities that we own, our U.S. distribution operations also include leased distribution space or contractual throughput agreements in other key geographical areas including California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin.
Our Canadian customers include independent dealers and national accounts. We also lease or own warehouse facilities in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba in Canada.
International
Outside of the U.S. and Canada, we market our Phosphates segment’s products through our Mosaic Fertilizantes segment and our China and India distribution businesses, as well as a salesforce focused on geographies outside of North America. The countries that account for the largest amount of our phosphates sales outside the U.S., by volume, are Brazil, Canada, Argentina and Mexico.
Our sales of potash products outside of the U.S. and Canada are made through Canpotex. Canpotex sales are allocated among its members based on peaking capacity. In 2022, our entitlement percentage of Canpotex was 36.2%.
Our potash exports from Carlsbad are sold through our own sales force. We also market our Potash segment’s products through our Mosaic Fertilizantes segment and our China and India distribution businesses, which acquire potash primarily through Canpotex. The countries that account for the largest amount of international potash sales, by volume, are Brazil, China, Indonesia, India and Malaysia.
To service the needs of our customers, our Mosaic Fertilizantes segment includes a network of strategically located sales offices, crop nutrient blending and bagging facilities, port terminals and warehouse distribution facilities that we own and operate. The blending and bagging facilities primarily produce Blends from phosphate, potash and nitrogen. The average product mix in our Blends (by volume) contains approximately 24% nitrogen, 51% phosphate and 25% potash, although this mix differs based on seasonal and other factors. All of our production in Brazil is consumed within the country.
Our India and China distribution businesses also includes a network of strategically located sales offices, crop nutrient blending and bagging facilities, port terminals and warehouse distribution facilities. These businesses serve primarily as a sales outlet for our North American phosphates production, as well as additional phosphate production we market from our MWSPC joint venture, both for resale and as an input for Blends. Our Potash segment also has historically furnished the majority of the raw materials needs for the production of Blends, primarily via Canpotex, and is expected to continue to do so in the future.
Other Products
With a strong brand position in a multi-billion dollar animal feed ingredients global market, our Phosphates segment supplies animal feed ingredients for poultry and livestock to customers in North America, Latin America and Asia. Our potash sales to non-agricultural users are primarily to large industrial accounts and the animal feed industry. Additionally, in North America, we sell potash for de-icing and as a water softener regenerant. In Brazil, we also sell phosphogypsum.
COMPETITION
Because crop nutrients are global commodities available from numerous sources, crop nutrition companies compete primarily on the basis of delivered price. Other competitive factors include product quality, cost and availability of raw materials, customer service, plant efficiency and availability of product. As a result, markets for our products are highly competitive. We compete with a broad range of domestic and international producers, including farmer cooperatives, subsidiaries of larger companies, and independent crop nutrient companies. Foreign competitors may have access to less expensive raw materials, may not have to comply with as stringent regulatory requirements or are owned or subsidized by governments and, as a result, may have cost advantages over North American companies. We believe that our extensive North American and international production and distribution system provides us with a competitive advantage by allowing us to achieve economies of scale, transportation and storage efficiencies, and obtain market intelligence. Also, we believe our performance products, such as MicroEssentials®, provide us a competitive advantage with customers in North and South America.
Unlike many of our competitors, we have our own distribution system to sell phosphate- and potash-based crop nutrients and animal feed ingredients, whether produced by us or by other third parties, around the globe. In North America, we have one of the largest and most strategically located distribution systems for crop nutrients, including warehouse facilities in key
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agricultural regions. We also have an extensive network of distribution facilities internationally, including in the key growth regions of South America and Asia, with port terminals, warehouses, and blending plants in Brazil, Paraguay, China, and India. Our global presence allows us to efficiently serve customers in approximately 40 countries.
Phosphates Segment
Our Phosphates segment operates in a highly competitive global market. Among the competitors in the global phosphate industry are domestic and foreign companies, as well as foreign government-supported producers in Asia and North Africa. Phosphate producers compete primarily based on price, as well as product quality, service and innovation. Major integrated producers of feed phosphates are located in the U.S., Europe and China. Many smaller producers are located in emerging markets around the world. Many of these smaller producers are not miners of phosphate rock or manufacturers of phosphoric acid and are required to purchase this material on the open market.
We believe that we are a low-cost integrated producer of phosphate-based crop nutrients, due in part to our scale, vertical integration and strategic network of production and distribution facilities. As the world’s second largest producer of concentrated phosphates, as well as the second largest miner of phosphate rock in the world and the largest in the U.S., we maintain an advantage over some competitors as the scale of operations effectively reduces production costs per unit. We are also vertically integrated to captively supply one of our key inputs, phosphate rock, to our phosphate production facilities. We believe that our position as an integrated producer of phosphate rock provides us with a significant cost advantage over competitors that are non-integrated phosphate producers. In addition, our ownership in the Miski Mayo Mine allows us to supplement our overall phosphate rock needs. We also sell approximately 25% of Miski Mayo Mine production to third parties. MWSPC enables us to not only further diversify our sources of phosphates but also improve our access to key agricultural countries in Asia and the Middle East.
We produce ammonia at our Faustina, Louisiana concentrates plant in quantities sufficient to meet approximately one third of our total ammonia needs in North America. We do not have ammonia production capacity within Florida to serve our Florida operations, but we have capacity to supply a portion of our requirements by transporting produced ammonia from Louisiana to Florida. We purchase additional ammonia from world markets and thus are subject to significant volatility in our purchase price of ammonia. The CF Ammonia Supply Agreement provides us with a supply of a substantial volume of ammonia at prices based on the price of natural gas.
With our dedicated sulfur transportation barges and tugs, and our ownership interest in Gulf Sulphur Services, we are also well-positioned to source an adequate, flexible and cost-effective supply of sulfur, our third key input, to our Florida and Louisiana phosphate production facilities. We believe that our investments in sulfur logistical and melting assets continue to afford us a competitive advantage compared to other producers in cost and access to sulfur.
With facilities in both central Florida and Louisiana, we are logistically well positioned to fulfill our material needs at very competitive prices. Those multiple production points also afford us the flexibility to optimally balance supply and demand.
Potash Segment
Potash is a commodity available from several geographical regions around the world and, consequently, the market is highly competitive. Through our participation in Canpotex, we compete outside of North America against various independent and state-owned potash producers. Canpotex has substantial expertise and logistical resources for the international distribution of potash, including strategically located export assets in Portland, Oregon, St. John, New Brunswick and Vancouver, British Columbia. Our principal methods of competition with respect to the sale of potash include product pricing and offering consistent, high-quality products and superior service. We believe that our potash cost structure is competitive in the industry and should improve as we continue to complete our potash expansion projects.
Mosaic Fertilizantes
The Mosaic Fertilizantes segment operates in a highly competitive market in Brazil. We compete with a broad range of domestic and international producers, including farmer cooperatives, subsidiaries of larger companies, and independent crop nutrient companies. We believe that having a vertically integrated business, internationally but also in Brazil, provides us with a competitive advantage by allowing us to achieve economies of scale, transportation and storage efficiencies, and obtain market intelligence.
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Mosaic Fertilizantes has a wide variety of customers including farmers, blenders, and other local distributors. We compete with local businesses that offer a wide variety of products that are available from many sources. We believe the strategic location of our mines and chemical plants, in close proximity to our customers, and the benefit of our own distribution network, gives us an advantage over most of our competitors. The vertical integration of our wholly-owned production, along with our distribution network, as well as our focus on product innovation and customer solutions, position us with an advantage over many of our competitors. We have a strong brand in Brazil. In addition to having access to our own production, our distribution activities have the capability to supply a wide variety of crop nutrients to our dealer and farmer customer base.
FACTORS AFFECTING DEMAND
Our results of operations historically have reflected the effects of several external factors which are beyond our control and have in the past produced significant downward and upward swings in operating results. Revenues are highly dependent upon conditions in the agriculture industry and can be affected by, among other factors: crop conditions; changes in agricultural production practices; worldwide economic conditions, including the increasing world population, household incomes, and demand for more protein-rich food, particularly in developing regions such as China, India and Latin America; changing demand for biofuels; variability in commodity pricing; governmental policies; the level of inventories in the crop nutrient distribution channels; customer expectations regarding farmer economics, future crop nutrient prices and availability, and transportation costs, among other matters; market trends in raw material costs; market prices for crop nutrients; and weather. Furthermore, our crop nutrients business is seasonal to the extent farmers and agricultural enterprises in the markets in which we compete purchase more crop nutrient products during the spring and fall. The international scope of our business, spanning the northern and southern hemispheres, reduces to some extent the seasonal impact on our business. The degree of seasonality of our business can change significantly from year to year due to conditions in the agricultural industry and other factors. The seasonal nature of our businesses requires significant working capital for inventory in advance of the planting seasons.
We sell products throughout the world. Unfavorable changes in trade protection laws, policies and measures, government policies and other regulatory requirements affecting trade; unexpected changes in tax and trade treaties; and strengthening or weakening of foreign economies as well as political relations with the U.S. may cause sales trends to customers in one or more foreign countries to differ from sales trends in the U.S.
Our international operations are subject to risks from changes in foreign currencies, or government policy, which can affect local farmer economics.
OTHER MATTERS
Employees
We had 13,570 employees as of December 31, 2022, consisting of approximately 9,868 salaried and 3,702 hourly employees. There are also approximately 198 salaried and 493 hourly employees at the Miski Mayo Mine, of which we own 75% and its results are consolidated within our results of operations.
Labor Relations
As of December 31, 2022:
•We had ten collective bargaining agreements with unions covering certain hourly employees in the U.S. and Canada. Of these employees, approximately 5% are covered under agreements that expire in 2023. All are expected to collectively bargain for new contracts in 2023.
•We had agreements with 35 unions covering all employees in Brazil. More than one agreement may govern our relations with each of these unions. In general, the agreements are renewable on an annual basis.
Failure to renew any of our union agreements could result in a strike or labor stoppage that could have a material adverse effect on our operations. However, we have not experienced a significant work stoppage in many years and historically have had good labor relations.
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Information Available on our Website
Our Annual Report Form on 10-K (“Form 10-K”), Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q (“Form 10-Q”), Current Reports on Form 8-K (“Form 8-K”), and amendments thereto, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder are made available free of charge on our website (www.mosaicco.com) as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. These reports are also available on the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). The information contained on our website and the SEC’s website is not being incorporated in this report.
HUMAN CAPITAL
Our employees are the foundation of our Company. Our 13,570 colleagues embody Mosaic’s core values of innovation, collaboration, drive and responsibility, and are the key to enabling us to execute our mission to help the world grow the food it needs.
As of December 31, 2022, our regular employee base was made up of the following:
Country Male Female Total
Saudi Arabia 1 — 1
Mosaic is committed to the well-being and development of our employees by creating and cultivating an innovative and collaborative workplace that welcomes, values and respects diversity of people, thoughts, and perspectives; a workplace free of discrimination and intolerant of bias. As part of Mosaic’s strategic priorities, we are committed to prioritizing our internal culture and external partnerships to meet our commitments to our employees and stakeholders and to be an employer of choice for generations to come.
Employee Health and Safety–safety is non-negotiable. We strive for zero harm to people and zero environmental incidents. Through the implementation of the Mosaic Management System, we have established a structured approach to effectively manage and control risk for the safety and well-being of our colleagues, the environment and our stockholders. The management system defines processes that help support a safe work environment and establish a continuous improvement cycle to adjust for changing conditions and identified risks.
Global Worker Wellness–extending beyond safety, our wellness programs seek to improve the well-being of our employees – and their families – in the areas of physical and psychological health, and financial security. These programs include health screenings, insurance plans, psychological health training and mental health resources, as well as our Environmental, Health and Safety (“EHS”) Risk Reduction Program, various trainings and flexible schedules.
Development–Mosaic believes in continually investing in people and their lifelong learning. Mosaic holds training events throughout the year across all of our locations, and hosts an online education platform, GrowingU, which all employees are encouraged to access. Mosaic offers companywide educational reimbursement programs to help employees in each of our operating companies acquire new skills and capabilities to better meet their job responsibilities and provide for future career opportunities within the Company. Mosaic supports membership in numerous professional associations and encourages participation in work-related external networking groups.
•In 2022, Mosaic continued its pilot programs to help employees gain the knowledge and skills that we believe will be necessary for the next evolution of our business. Like any company, Mosaic experiences turnover and the need to
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replace talent related to retirement and succession. Mosaic seeks to minimize unwanted turnover through its talent review, succession management, performance management, and compensation processes. For certain roles critical to our operations, such as engineering, operations, and employee health and safety professionals, we maintain specific talent programs, internal development strategies, and recruitment pipelines.
Community–Mosaic is a thoughtful and engaged neighbor who invests carefully and generously through long-term partnerships with organizations that are making a difference. We are proud to support organizations and initiatives that create growth and leave a lasting impact in our communities in three main focus areas: food, water and local community. Each year, we invest an average of $15 million. In addition to philanthropic grants and sponsorships of local programs, we also support and facilitate volunteerism by our employees. Similarly, we participate on local committees and associations focused on contributing to the vitality of the people and communities around us.
•2022 was the second year of the Mosaic Employee Giving Program (the“Program”) that provides employees with flexibility to connect their personal causes to corporate giving, matching and volunteerism opportunities. The Program aligns to Mosaic’s strategic priorities, our 2025 Environmental, Social and Governance performance targets, and companywide 2030 global diversity and inclusion goals. Employees can take advantage of Company matching funds through financial contributions, volunteering on personal time, or both - In North America this can be up to $2,000 annually. Our 2030 diversity and inclusion target for community investment provides intentional focus to support underserved or underrepresented populations in regions where we operate.
Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities–in 2022, Mosaic’s Diversity and Inclusion Program engaged in several initiatives to advance Mosaic’s commitments to our employees and stakeholders, increase accountability and promote a more diverse and inclusive environment. Initiatives included establishing a governance structure that will provide for increased global visibility, and improved efficiencies and collaboration in identifying, developing and executing strategies to increase diversity and inclusion. We announced global 2030 diversity goals and are driving accountability into the business units by establishing business-level initiatives and programs to address opportunities to progress toward the goals. We also established our first executive-led Employee Inclusion Networks to create community and allyship, develop awareness and enhance workforce engagement.
•In 2022, Mosaic continued to evolve and build upon foundational learning by driving conscious inclusion education deeper into the organization and providing an enhanced, self-directed learning platform to our leaders. We refocused our recruitment efforts on creating a more diverse talent pipeline, partnering with a U.S.-based public historically black college to create an immersive internship program; and identifying additional opportunities to attract and retain diverse talent. Additional information about our human capital, including our diversity and inclusion goals for 2030, is available in the sustainability report posted on our website. The information contained on our website is not being incorporated in this report.
•Pay equity is fundamental to our compensation philosophy and our commitment to diversity and inclusion. Mosaic annually evaluates pay equity and compensation practices to ensure fair and equitable treatment of employees based on our pay-for-performance framework. In 2022, Mosaic retained an independent consultant to assist with our pay equity analysis across our global operations and to help us enhance our internal capabilities to annually assess pay disparities. The results revealed 19 outliers without adequate business justifications. Mosaic intends to address each of the instances during our 2023 compensation cycle. Pay equity will be reviewed internally every year and we expect to conduct external independent reviews every three years.
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INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Information regarding our executive officers as of February 23, 2023 is set forth below:
Name Age Position
Bruce M. Bodine Jr. 51 Senior Vice President - North America
Clint C. Freeland 54 Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Christopher A. Lewis 60 Senior Vice President - Human Resources
James “Joc” C. O’Rourke 62 Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
Benjamin J. Pratt 56 Senior Vice President - Government and Public Affairs
Walter F. Precourt III 58 Senior Vice President - Strategy and Growth
Corrine D. Ricard 59 Senior Vice President - Mosaic Fertilizantes
Karen A. Swager 52 Senior Vice President - Supply Chain
Philip E. Bauer. Mr. Bauer was promoted to Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in January 2023. Since joining Mosaic in 2007, Mr. Bauer has managed legal support for business development activities, potash operations, offshore finance, commercial transactions and corporate governance. Most recently, he was the Vice President—Growth and Development where he helped drive strategic vision across the organization. Prior to Mosaic, he was a partner at an international law firm where he focused his practice on mergers and acquisitions, public and private securities offerings and public company compliance matters, as well as general business advising. Mr. Bauer earned his Juris Doctor degree from The George Washington University Law School in Washington D.C., his Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service with honors from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service where he majored in international politics, and his Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Bruce M. Bodine Jr. Mr. Bodine was named Senior Vice President - North America effective April 1, 2020. From January 1, 2019 until his appointment as Senior Vice President - North America, Mr. Bodine served as our Senior Vice President - Phosphates and also provided executive oversight for the corporate procurement organization. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President - Potash (from June 2016 to December 31, 2018); as Vice President - Potash (from April to May 2016); as Vice President - Supply Chain (from August 2015 to March 2016); as Vice President - Operations Business Development (from October 2014 to August 2015); as Vice President - Operations for our Esterhazy and Colonsay potash production facilities (from July 2013 to October 2014); as the General Manager, Esterhazy (from September 2012 to June 2013); and as the General Manager, Four Corners (from March 2010 to August 2012). Before that, Mr. Bodine held various plant and mine development management positions in the Phosphates segment beginning with Mosaic’s formation in 2004. Mr. Bodine serves as a director of MVM Resources International, B.V., the general partner of Compañia Minera Miski Mayo S.R.L., the joint venture that operates the mines in Peru.
Clint C. Freeland. Mr. Freeland was named Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in June 2018. Prior to joining Mosaic, Mr. Freeland served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Dynegy Inc. from July 2011 until Dynegy’s merger with Vistra Energy Corp. in April 2018. Mr. Freeland was responsible for Dynegy’s financial affairs, including finance and accounting, treasury, tax and banking and credit agency relationships. In November 2011, as part of a reorganization of its subsidiaries, certain of Dynegy’s affiliates filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (the “Code”) and, in July 2012, Dynegy filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Code. Dynegy emerged from bankruptcy in October 2012. Prior to joining Dynegy, Mr. Freeland served as Senior Vice President, Strategy & Financial Structure of NRG Energy, Inc (“NRG”). from February 2009 to July 2011. Mr. Freeland served as NRG’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from February 2008 to February 2009 and its Vice President and Treasurer from April 2006 to February 2008. Prior to joining NRG, Mr. Freeland held various key financial roles within the energy sector.
Christopher A. Lewis. Mr. Lewis was named Senior Vice President - Human Resources in June 2019. Prior to joining Mosaic, Mr. Lewis held the role of Vice President, Project Execution for Spectra Energy Corporation’s merger into Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based Enbridge, Inc. where he led construction of the company’s energy assets throughout North America, as well as a synergy capture program post acquisition. Prior to that role, Mr. Lewis held roles at DCP Midstream, LLC
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(“DCP”), a natural gas company based in Denver, Colorado where he started as the head of Human Resources while the company was formed as a spin-off from Duke Energy in 2007. From 2010 to 2016, he was DCP’s Chief Corporate Officer, a multi-functional role that included leadership of the human resources function. Earlier in his career, Mr. Lewis held regional and global senior human resources positions at Thomson Multimedia (formerly RCA, GE consumer electronics) and DHL, Inc.
James “Joc” C. O’Rourke. Mr. O’Rourke was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer effective in August 2015. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President - Operations and Chief Operating Officer since August 2012 and before that as Executive Vice President - Operations since January 2009. Prior to joining Mosaic, Mr. O’Rourke was President, Australia Pacific for Barrick Gold Corporation, the largest gold producer in Australia, since May 2006, where he was responsible for the Australia Pacific Business Unit, consisting of ten gold and copper mines in Australia and Papua, New Guinea. Before that, Mr. O’Rourke was Executive General Manager and Managing Director of Placer Dome Asia Pacific Ltd., the second largest gold producer in Australia, from December 2004, where he was responsible for the Australia Business Unit, consisting of five gold and copper mines; and General Manager of Western Australia Operations for Iluka Resources Ltd., the world’s largest zircon and second largest titanium producer, from September 2003, where he was responsible for six mining and concentrating operations and two mineral separation/synthetic rutile refineries. Mr. O’Rourke had previously held various management, engineering and other roles in the mining industry in Canada and Australia since 1984. Mr. O’Rourke has served on our Board of Directors since May 2015 and is also a director of The Toro Company.
Benjamin J. Pratt. Ben Pratt was named Senior Vice President - Government and Public Affairs in April 2020. Previously, Mr. Pratt held the position of Vice President - Corporate Public Affairs, leading corporate communications and U.S. Federal Government relations, as well as Mosaic’s corporate social responsibility activities. Mr. Pratt serves on several community and business boards, including the Streamsong Resort® Advisory Board and the boards of directors of The Florida Aquarium, the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council and the Tampa Bay Partnership. Prior to joining Mosaic in February 2012, Mr. Pratt was Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications at Ameriprise Financial, Inc., in Minneapolis. Earlier in his career, he worked in a variety of communications and investor relations capacities at The PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh, and at Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, both in New York.
Walter F. Precourt III. Mr. Precourt was named Senior Vice President - Strategy and Growth effective January 1, 2019. From June 2016 through March 2020 he also provided executive oversight for the EHS organization. He previously served as Senior Vice President - Phosphates and provided executive oversight for the corporate procurement organization from June 2016 until January 1, 2019, as Senior Vice President - Potash Operations from May 2012 to June 2016, and before that he led the Environment, Health and Safety organization since joining Mosaic in 2009. Prior to joining Mosaic, Mr. Precourt was employed by cement and mineral component producer Holcim (U.S.) where he initially led its safety transformation and later became Vice President of Environment and Government Affairs. Mr. Precourt started his career at The Dow Chemical Company where he served in a variety of roles in Operations, Technology, Capital Project Management, and Environmental, Health and Safety. Mr. Precourt served as a director and was the past Chairman of the Board of the Saskatchewan Potash Producers Association and was a director of Fertilizer Canada.
Corrine D. Ricard. Ms. Ricard was appointed Senior Vice President - Mosaic Fertilizantes effective November 15, 2019. Prior to that she served as Senior Vice President - Commercial since February 2017, Senior Vice President - Human Resources from April 2012 to February 2017, and before that she held a number of other leadership positions at Mosaic, including Vice President - International Distribution, Vice President - Business Development and Vice President - Supply Chain. Prior to Mosaic’s formation, Ms. Ricard worked for Cargill in various roles, including risk management, supply chain and commodity trading.
Karen A. Swager. Ms. Swager was named Senior Vice President - Supply Chain effective April 1, 2020, and also provides executive oversite for the Procurement and corporate EHS teams. From January 1, 2019 until her appointment as Senior Vice President - Supply Chain, she served as Senior Vice President - Potash. Previously, Ms. Swager held leadership positions at Mosaic, including Vice President - Minerals, Vice President - Mining Operations and General Manager in our Phosphates business. She also led the mine planning and strategy group for the Phosphates business.
Yijun (“Jenny”) Wang. Ms. Wang was named Senior Vice President - Global Strategic Marketing, Head of China and India effective January 1, 2022. From October 15, 2020 until her current appointment, Ms. Wang served as Vice President - Global Strategic Marketing. Prior to October 2020, Ms. Wang served as Vice President - Global Product Management and International Distribution and before May 2019, Ms. Wang served as Country Head for China. Ms. Wang has served on the Board of Directors at Canpotex.
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Our executive officers are generally elected to serve until their respective successors are elected and qualified or until their earlier death, resignation or removal. No “family relationships,” as that term is defined in Item 401(d) of Regulation S-K, exist among any of the listed officers or between any such officer and any member of our board of directors.
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of the risks and uncertainties described below.
Operational Risks
Our operating results are highly dependent upon and fluctuate based upon business and economic conditions and governmental policies affecting the agricultural industry in which we or our customers operate. These factors are outside of our control and may significantly affect our profitability.
The most important of these factors are:
•weather and field conditions (particularly during periods of traditionally high crop nutrients application);
•quantities of crop nutrients imported and exported;
•current and projected inventories and prices, which are heavily influenced by U.S. exports and world-wide markets; and
•governmental policies, including farm and biofuel policies, which may directly or indirectly influence the number of acres planted, the level of inventories, the mix of crops planted or crop prices or otherwise negatively affect our operating results.
International market conditions and the success of our countervailing duty petitions, which are also outside of our control, may also significantly influence our operating results. The international market for crop nutrients is influenced by such factors as the relative value of the U.S. dollar and its impact upon the cost of importing crop nutrients, foreign agricultural policies, including subsidy policies, the existence of, or changes in, import or foreign currency exchange barriers in certain foreign markets, changes in the hard currency demands of certain countries and other regulatory policies of foreign governments, as well as the laws and policies of the U.S. affecting foreign trade and investment, including use of tariffs. In 2020, we filed petitions with the DOC and ITC that requested the initiation of countervailing duty investigations into imports of phosphate fertilizers from Morocco and Russia. The purpose of the petitions was to remedy the distortions that we believe foreign subsidies have caused or are causing in the U.S. market for phosphate fertilizers, and thereby restore fair competition. During the first quarter of 2021, the DOC made final affirmative determinations that countervailable subsidies were being provided by the Russian and Moroccan governments and the ITC made final affirmative determinations that the U.S. phosphate fertilizer industry is materially injured by reason of subsidized phosphate fertilizer imports from Morocco and Russia. As a result of these determinations, the DOC issued countervailing duty orders on phosphate fertilizer imports from Russia and Morocco, which are scheduled to remain in place for at least five years. Currently, the cash deposit rates for such imports are approximately 20 percent for Moroccan producer OCP, 9 percent and 47 percent for Russian producers PhosAgro and Eurochem, respectively, and 17 percent for all other Russian producers. The final determinations in the DOC and ITC investigations are subject to possible challenges before U.S. federal courts and the World Trade Organization, and Mosaic has initiated actions at the U.S. Court of International Trade contesting certain aspects of the DOC’s final determinations that, we believe, failed to capture the full extent of Moroccan and Russian phosphate fertilizer subsidies. Moroccan and Russian producers have also initiated U.S. Court of International Trade actions, seeking lower cash deposit rates and revocation of the countervailing duty orders. Further, the cash deposit rates and the amount of countervailing duties owed by importers on such imports could change based on the results of the DOC’s annual administrative review proceedings. If the final determinations are challenged and subsequently reversed, the results could have an adverse effect on our business, and/or our financial condition or operating results.
The Covid-19 pandemic may materially adversely affect our business operations and financial condition.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact the global economy and could significantly disrupt our operations, key suppliers or third-party logistics providers, customers and ultimate end-users due to the spread of the virus, shelter in place orders, quarantines or other measures implemented to prevent the spread of the virus. In some instances, the pandemic has impacted our business. Our businesses have been impacted by short-term labor shortages due to illness and transportation issues such
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as trucking delays and port congestion which are slowing delivery of inputs to facilities and products to end customers.At this time, the Company has only experienced limited adverse financial and operational Covid-19 related conditions.
Other effects of the Covid-19 pandemic that are not currently foreseeable could materially increase our costs, negatively impact our revenue and/or adversely impact our results of operations and liquidity, possibly to a significant degree. We cannot predict the severity or duration of any such impacts. The Covid-19 pandemic could also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this Item 1A of this Form 10-K.
Unfavorable worldwide economic and market conditions could adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results.
Economic and market conditions, including inflation, supply chain challenges, high interest rates and foreign exchange volatility, have and may continue to have an impact on our business. Our production costs have also increased due to higher prices for raw materials, including purchased nitrogen, sulfur and ammonia, as well as supply chain challenges, including increased costs and delays caused by transportation and labor shortages. These adverse economic events have adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect our operating results.
Our crop nutrient business is seasonal and varies based on application rates, which may result in carrying significant amounts of inventory and seasonal variations in working capital, and our inability to predict future seasonal crop nutrient demand accurately may result in excess inventory or product shortages.
The use of crop nutrients is seasonal and varies based on application rates. Farmers tend to apply crop nutrients during two short application periods, the strongest one in the spring, before planting, and the other in the fall, after harvest. As a result, the strongest demand for our products typically occurs during the spring planting season, with a second period of strong demand following the fall harvest. In contrast, we and other crop nutrient producers generally produce our products throughout the year. As a result, we and/or our customers generally build inventories during the low demand periods of the year in order to provide timely product availability during the peak sales seasons. The seasonality of crop nutrient demand results in our sales volumes and net sales typically being the highest during the North American spring season and our working capital requirements typically being the highest just prior to the start of the spring season. Our quarterly financial results can vary significantly from one year to the next due to weather-related shifts in planting schedules and purchasing patterns.
If seasonal demand exceeds our projections, we will not have enough product and our customers may acquire products from our competitors, which would negatively impact our profitability. If seasonal demand is less than we expect, we will have excess inventory and higher working capital and liquidity requirements. The degree of seasonality of our business can change significantly from year to year due to conditions in the agricultural industry and other factors.
Changes in transportation costs can affect our sales volumes and selling prices.
The cost of delivery is a significant factor in the total cost to customers and farmers of crop nutrients. As a result, changes in transportation costs, or in customer expectations about them, can affect our sales volumes and prices.
A disruption to our production, distribution or terminaling facilities could have a material adverse impact on our business. The risk of material disruption increases when demand for our products results in high operating rates at our facilities.
We conduct our operations through a limited number of key production, distribution and terminaling facilities. These facilities include our phosphate mines and concentrates plants; our potash mines; and the ports and other distribution facilities through which we, Canpotex and the other joint ventures in which we participate, conduct our respective businesses, as well as other commercial arrangements with unrelated third parties. Any disruption of operations at any one of these facilities has the possibility of significantly negatively affecting our production or our ability to distribute our products.
Examples of the types of events that could result in a disruption at one of these facilities include: adverse weather; strikes or other work stoppages; civil unrest; deliberate, malicious acts, including acts of terrorism and armed conflict; political or economic instability; cyberattacks; changes in permitting, financial assurance or certain environmental, health and safety laws or other changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate; legal and regulatory proceedings; our relationships with the other member of Canpotex and the other joint ventures in which we participate and their or our exit from participation in such joint ventures; other changes in our commercial arrangements with unrelated third parties; brine inflows at our
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Esterhazy, Saskatchewan mine or our other shaft mines; mechanical failure and accidents or other failures occurring in the course of operating activities, including at our gypstacks, clay settling areas and tailing dams; accidents occurring in the course of operating activities; lack of truck, rail, barge or ship transportation; and other factors.
Reduced oil refinery operating rates in North America could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or operating results.
Reduced oil refinery operating rates in the U.S. and Canada could result in decreased availability of molten sulfur, which could increase costs of sulfur procurement or decrease availability of sulfur needed in our phosphate fertilizer production operations. We have not yet become subject to such results in the sulfur procurement markets, if it becomes necessary to procure sulfur at higher costs, and if we are unable to pass those costs on in our product prices, or if we are unable to procure sulfur at volumes necessary for our operations, such events could have a material adverse effect on our phosphate business, and/or our financial condition or operating results.
Key inputs for the production of our finished goods, including fertilizer, sulfur and ammonia, and energy used in our businesses in the past have been and may in the future be the subject of volatile pricing and availability. Changes in the price or availability of these key inputs for production of finished goods have had, and could again have, a material adverse impact on our businesses.
Fertilizer is a key input for production of our finished goods. Natural gas, ammonia and sulfur are key raw materials used in the manufacture of phosphate crop nutrient products. Natural gas is used as both a chemical feedstock and a fuel to produce anhydrous ammonia, which is a raw material used in the production of concentrated phosphate products. Natural gas is also a significant energy source used in the potash solution mining process. From time to time, our profitability has been and may in the future be adversely impacted by the price and availability of these key inputs and other energy costs. For example, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the related sanctions have led, and may continue to lead, to disruption and instability in global markets, supply chains and volatile pricing and availability of these key inputs and raw materials. Because most of our products are commodities, there can be no assurance that we will be able to pass through increased costs to our customers. A significant increase in the price of fertilizer, natural gas, ammonia, sulfur or energy costs that is not recovered through an increase in the price of our related crop nutrients products could have a material adverse impact on our business. In addition, under an ammonia supply agreement with CF, we have agreed to purchase approximately 545,000 to 725,000 tonnes of ammonia per year at a price to be determined by a formula based on the prevailing price of U.S. natural gas. If the price of natural gas rises or the market price for ammonia falls outside of the range anticipated at execution of this agreement, we may not realize a cost benefit from the natural gas-based pricing over the term of the agreement, or the cost of our ammonia under the agreement could become a competitive disadvantage. At times, we have paid considerably more for ammonia under the agreement than what we would have paid had we purchased it in the spot market.On October 14, 2022, we received notice from CF to exercise the bilateral, contractual right to end the ammonia supply agreement in its current form, effective January 1, 2025. The contract allows for either party to exercise rights on certain dates through 2032 that can result in changes to terms and conditions.
We are subject to risks associated with our international sales and operations, which could negatively affect our sales to customers in foreign countries as well as our operations and assets in foreign countries. Some of these factors may also make it less attractive to distribute cash generated by our operations outside the U.S. to our stockholders, or to utilize cash generated by our operations in one country to fund our operations or repayments of indebtedness in another country or to support other corporate purposes.
For 2022, we derived approximately 75% of our net sales from customers located outside of the U.S. As a result, we are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties relating to international sales and operations, including:
•difficulties and costs associated with complying with a wide variety of complex laws, treaties and regulations;
•unexpected changes in regulatory environments;
•increased government ownership and regulation of the economy in the countries we serve;
•political and economic instability, including the possibility for terrorism, armed conflict, civil unrest, inflation and adverse economic conditions resulting from governmental attempts to reduce inflation, such as imposition of higher interest rates and wage and price controls;
•unpredictable tax audit practices of various governments;
•nationalization of properties by foreign governments;
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•the imposition of tariffs, exchange controls, trade barriers or other restrictions, or government-imposed increases in the cost of resources and materials necessary for the conduct of our operations or the completion of strategic initiatives, including with respect to our joint ventures; and
•currency exchange rate fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies, particularly the Brazilian real and the Canadian dollar.
The occurrence of any of the above in the countries in which we operate or elsewhere could jeopardize or affect our ability to transact business there and could adversely affect our revenues and operating results and the value of our assets located outside of the U.S.
In addition, tax regulations and tax audit practices, currency exchange controls and other restrictions may also make it economically unattractive to:
•distribute cash generated by our operations outside the U.S. to our stockholders; or
•utilize cash generated by our operations in one country to fund our operations or repayments of indebtedness in another country or to support other corporate purposes.
Our assets outside of North America are located in countries with volatile conditions, which could subject us and our assets to significant risks.
We are a global business with substantial assets located outside of the U.S. and Canada. Our operations in Brazil, China, India and Paraguay are fundamental to our business. We have a majority interest in the joint venture entity operating the Miski Mayo Mine that supplies phosphate rock to us. We also have a minority joint venture investment in MWSPC, which operates a mine and chemical complexes that produce phosphate fertilizers and other downstream products in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Volatile economic, market and political conditions may have a negative impact on our operations, operating results and financial condition. In addition, unfavorable changes in trade protection laws, policies and measures, or governmental actions and policies and other regulatory requirements affecting trade and the pricing and sourcing of our raw materials, may also have a negative impact on our operations, operating results and financial condition.
Natural resource extraction is an important part of the economy in Peru, and, in the past, there have been protests against other natural resource operations in Peru. There remain numerous social conflicts that exist within the natural resource sector in Peru. As a result, there is potential for active protests against natural resource extraction companies. If the Government of Peru’s proactive efforts to address the social and environmental issues surrounding natural resource activities are not successful, protests could extend to or impact the Miski Mayo Mine and adversely affect our interest in the Miski Mayo joint venture or the supply of phosphate rock to us from the mine.
Adverse weather conditions, including the impact of hurricanes, and excess heat, cold, snow, rainfall and drought, have in the past, and may in the future, adversely affect our operations, and result in increased costs, decreased sales or production and potential liabilities.
Adverse weather conditions, including the impact of hurricanes and excess heat, cold, snow, rainfall and drought, have in the past and may in the future adversely affect our operations, particularly our Phosphates business. In the past, hurricanes have resulted in physical damage to our facilities in Florida and Louisiana.
Additionally, water treatment costs tend to increase significantly following excess rainfall from hurricanes or other adverse weather. Some of our Florida and Louisiana facilities have had, and others could have, high water levels that have required, or may require, treatment. High water balances in the past at phosphate facilities in Florida also led the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (“FDEP”) to adopt rules requiring phosphate production facilities to meet more stringent process water management objectives for phosphogypsum stack systems. In addition to the FDEP, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) also have similar requirements for water management objectives as outlined in our U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) CD’s.
If excess rainfall or hurricanes occur in coming years, our facilities may be required to take additional measures to manage process water to comply with existing or future requirements and these measures could potentially have a material effect on our business and financial condition.
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Adverse weather may also cause a loss of production and may disrupt our supply chain or adversely affect delivery of our products to our customers. For example, oil refineries that supply sulfur to us may suspend operations as a result of a hurricane, and incoming shipments of ammonia can be delayed, disrupting production at our Florida or Louisiana facilities and delivery of our products. In the second half of 2021, we experienced production impacts related to Hurricane Ida on our Louisiana operations. We also experienced down time and delayed shipments caused by impacts from Hurricane Ian which occurred at the end of the third quarter in 2022.
Excess rainfall and drought have in the past, and may in the future, adversely affect us. For example, in 2019 we experienced the wettest year in North America in nearly 50 years which reduced fertilizer applications by farmers. Excess rainfall also resulted in higher river levels which adversely affected delivery of our products. Drought can reduce farmers’ crop yields and the uptake of phosphates and potash, reducing the need for application of additional phosphates and potash for the next planting season. Drought can also lower river levels, adversely affecting delivery of our products to our customers.
Climate change could adversely affect us.
The impact of climate change on our operations and those of our customers and farmers remains uncertain. Scientists have hypothesized that the impacts of climate change could include changes in rainfall patterns, water shortages, changing sea levels, changing storm patterns and intensities, and changing temperature levels and that these changes could be severe. These impacts could vary by geographic location. Severe climate change could impact our costs and operating activities, the location and cost of global grain and oilseed production, and the supply and demand for grains and oilseeds. At the present time, we cannot predict the prospective impact of climate change on our results of operations, liquidity or capital resources, or whether any such effects could be material to us.
We do not own a controlling equity interest in our non-consolidated companies, some of which are foreign companies, and therefore our operating results and cash flow may be materially affected by how the governing boards and majority owners operate such businesses. There may also be limitations on monetary distributions from these companies that are outside of our control. Together, these factors may lower our equity earnings or cash flow from such businesses and negatively impact our results of operations.
In 2013, we entered into an agreement to form MWSPC, a joint venture in which we hold a 25% interest, to develop a mine and chemical complexes for an estimated $8.0 billion that produces phosphate fertilizers and other downstream products in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The success of MWSPC will depend on, among other matters, the availability and affordability of necessary resources and materials and access to appropriate infrastructure, availability and affordability of transportation, operational decisions of MWSPC management, ability to operate without material disruption to the facilities, as well as the general economic and political stability of the region.
We also hold minority ownership interests in other companies that are not controlled by us. The operations and results of MWSPC will be, and the operations or results of some of the other companies are, significant to us, and their operations can affect our earnings. Because we do not control these companies either at the board or stockholder levels and because local laws in foreign jurisdictions and contractual obligations may place restrictions on monetary distributions by these companies, we cannot ensure that these companies will operate efficiently, pay dividends, or generally follow the desires of our management by virtue of our board or stockholder representation. As a result, these companies may contribute less than anticipated to our earnings and cash flow, negatively impacting our results of operations and liquidity.
Strikes or other forms of work stoppage or slowdown could disrupt our business and lead to increased costs.
Our financial performance is dependent on a reliable and productive work force. A significant portion of our workforce, and that of the joint ventures in which we participate, is covered by collective bargaining agreements with unions. Unsuccessful contract negotiations or adverse labor relations could result in strikes or slowdowns. Any disruption may decrease our production and sales or impose additional costs to resolve disputes. The risk of adverse labor relations may increase as our profitability increases because labor unions’ expectations and demands generally rise at those times.
Our underground potash shaft mines are subject to risks of water inflows.
Over the past century, several potash mines experiencing water inflow problems have flooded. Since December 1985, we have had inflows of brine water into our Esterhazy, Saskatchewan K1 and K2 potash mines. Due to an acceleration of brine inflows, on June 4, 2021, the Company announced a closure of our K1 and K2 potash mine shafts. Our potash mines at Colonsay, Saskatchewan, Carlsbad, New Mexico and our Esterhazy, Saskatchewan K3 mine (though not contiguous with the
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K1/K2 underground inflow region) are also subject to risks from the inflow of water as a result of our underground shaft mining operations. Though minor inflows are regularly managed, it is possible that significant water inflows could occur which may present risks to our employees and our operations, and which may require us to incur brine management costs, change our mining processes, or abandon our operating mines.
See the “Key Factors that can Affect Results of Operations and Financial Condition” and “Potash Net Sales and Gross Margin” sections of our Management’s Analysis in this Form 10-K and the Esterhazy closure costs in Note 26 of this Form 10-K, which sections are incorporated herein by reference, for a discussion of costs, risks and other information relating to the brine inflows.
Accidents or equipment failures occurring in the course of our operating activities could result in significant liabilities, interruptions or shutdowns of facilities or the need for significant safety or other expenditures.
We engage in mining and industrial activities that can result in serious accidents or experience equipment failures. If our procedures are not effective, or if an accident or equipment failure were to occur, we could be subject to liabilities arising out of property damage, personal injuries or death, our operations could be interrupted and we might have to shut down or abandon affected facilities. Accidents could cause us to expend significant amounts to remediate safety issues or to repair damaged facilities and could result in significant liabilities and/or impact on the financial performance of the Company, including material adverse effects on our results of operations, liquidity or financial condition. For example:
•Some of our facilities are subject to potential damage from seismic activity.
The excavation of mines in some parts of the world can result in potential seismic events or can increase the likelihood or potential severity of a seismic event. Our Esterhazy mine and southern Louisiana facilities have experienced minor seismic events from time to time. A significant seismic event at one our facilities or mines could result in serious injuries or death, or damage to or flooding of operations, or damage to adjoining properties or facilities of unrelated third parties.
•Our underground potash shaft mines are subject to risk from fire. In addition, fire at one of our underground shaft mines could halt our operations at the affected mine while we investigate the origin of the fire or for longer periods for remedial work or otherwise.
Our underground potash shaft mines at Esterhazy and Colonsay, Saskatchewan, Carlsbad, New Mexico and Taquari-Vassouras, Brazil are subject to risk from fire. In the event of a fire, if our emergency procedures are not successful, we could have significant injuries or deaths,or shutdowns of our facilities, or could cause us to expend significant amounts to remediate safety issues or repair damaged facilities.
•We handle significant quantities of ammonia at several of our facilities. If our safety procedures are not effective, an accident involving our ammonia operations could result in serious injuries or death, or result in the shutdown of our facilities.
We produce ammonia at our Faustina, Louisiana phosphate concentrates plant, use ammonia in significant quantities at all of our Florida and Louisiana phosphates concentrates plants and store ammonia at some of our distribution facilities. In Florida, ammonia is received at terminals in Tampa and transported by pipelines and trucks to our facilities. We also use ammonia in our Brazil phosphate operations. Our ammonia is generally stored and transported at high pressures or cryogenically. Accidents at any of our ammonia facilities could result in serious injury or death and could adversely impact our operations.
•We also use or produce other hazardous chemicals at some of our facilities. If our safety procedures are not effective, an accident involving these other hazardous chemicals could result in serious injuries or death, or result in the shutdown of our facilities.
We use sulfuric acid in the production of concentrated phosphates in our Florida and Louisiana operations and our Brazil operations. We also use or produce other hazardous chemicals at some of our facilities. An accident involving any of these chemicals could result in serious injuries or death, or evacuation of areas near an accident. An accident could also result in property damage or shutdown of our facilities, or cause us to expend significant amounts to remediate safety issues or to repair damaged facilities.
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Regulatory Risks
The environmental, health and safety regulations and requirements to which we are subject may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to numerous environmental, health and safety laws and regulations in the U.S., Canada, China, Brazil and other countries in which we operate. These laws and regulations govern a wide range of matters, including environmental controls, land reclamation, discharges to air and water, remediation of hazardous substance releases and in some cases, demonstration of financial assurance. They significantly affect our operating activities as well as the level of our operating costs and capital expenditures. In some jurisdictions, environmental laws change frequently and it may be challenging for us to achieve and maintain compliance with all material environmental laws at all times. If we are not in compliance, we may be subject to enforcement or third-party claims, and may require new investment in our business. In those circumstances, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
The U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) imposes liability, including for cleanup costs, without regard to fault or to the legality of a party’s conduct, on certain categories of persons, including current and former owners and operators of a site and parties who are considered to have contributed to the release of “hazardous substances” into the environment. Under CERCLA, or various U.S. state analogues, a party may, under certain circumstances, be required to bear more than its proportional share of cleanup costs at a site where it has liability if payments cannot be obtained from other responsible parties. As a crop nutrient company producing and managing chemicals, we periodically have incurred and may incur liabilities and cleanup costs, under CERCLA and other environmental laws, with regard to our current or former facilities, adjacent or nearby third-party facilities or offsite disposal locations.
Our operations are dependent on having the required permits and approvals from governmental authorities. Denial or delay by a government agency in issuing any of our permits and approvals or imposition of restrictive conditions on us with respect to these permits and approvals may impair our business and operations.
Our operations, including our mines, are dependent on having the required permits and approvals from governmental authorities. Denial or delay by a government agency in issuing, modifying or renewing any of our permits and approvals or imposition of restrictive or cost prohibitive conditions on us with respect to these permits and approvals may impair our business and operations and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. For example, In Florida, local community involvement has become an increasingly important factor in the permitting process for mining companies, and various counties and other parties in Florida have in the past filed and continue to file lawsuits challenging the issuance or renewal of some of the permits we require. These actions can significantly delay issuance of the permits we need to operate or expand operations.
We have included additional discussion about permitting for our phosphate mines in Florida under “Environmental, Health, Safety and Security Matters–Operating Requirements and Impacts–Permitting” in our Management’s Analysis.
We are, and may in the future be, involved in legal and regulatory proceedings that could be material to us.
We have in the past been, are currently and, in the future may be, subject to legal and regulatory proceedings that could be material to our business, results of operations, liquidity or financial condition. Joint ventures in which we participate could also become subject to these sorts of proceedings. These proceedings may be brought by the government or private parties and may arise out of a variety of matters, including:
•Allegations that we have violated environmental, health and safety laws and regulations or that we are responsible for adversely affecting nearby properties. We are currently involved in proceedings alleging that, or to review whether, we have violated environmental laws in the U.S. and Brazil.
•Allegations by private parties that our operations have resulted in personal injury, property damage or damage to business operations.
•Antitrust, commercial, tax (including tax audits) and other disputes.
The legal and regulatory proceedings to which we are currently or may in the future be subject may, depending on the circumstances, result in monetary damage awards, fines, penalties, other liabilities, injunctions or other court or administrative rulings that interrupt, impede or otherwise materially affect our business operations or criminal sanctions.
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We have included additional information with respect to pending legal and regulatory proceedings in Note 23 of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and in this Form 10-K in Part I, Item 3, “Legal Proceedings”.
Environmental, health and safety and food and crop laws and regulations to which we are subject may become more stringent over time. This could increase the effects on us of these laws and regulations, and the increased effects could be materially adverse to our business, operations, liquidity and/or results of operations.
Heightened regulation on food and crop inputs (including crop nutrients) and environmental, health and safety issues in the U.S., Canada, China, Brazil, Paraguay and other countries where we operate can be expected to result in requirements that apply to us and our operations that may be more stringent than those described elsewhere in this report. These requirements may include:
•Increased levels of future investments and expenditures for environmental controls at ongoing operations, which will be charged against income from future operations; increased levels of the financial assurance requirements to which we are subject, and increased efforts or costs to obtain permits or denial of permits.
•New or interpretations of existing statutes or regulations that impose new or more stringent standards, restrictions or liabilities related to elevated levels of naturally-occurring radiation that arise on formerly mined land and other matters that could increase our expenses, capital requirements or liabilities or adversely affect our business, liquidity or financial condition.
Environmental justice considerations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
The U.S. federal and some state governments increasingly are adopting standards or policies requiring environmental justice reviews in some permitting actions.In general, they require governmental agencies to evaluate projects for disproportionate impacts to disadvantaged or already burdened communities. If such conditions are found, they might result in a permit denial, or restrictive or cost prohibitive conditions imposed on our operations and may impair our business and operations and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We are subject to financial assurance requirements as part of our routine business operations. If we were unable to satisfy financial assurance requirements, we might not be able to obtain or maintain permits we need to operate our business as we have in the past. In addition, our compliance with these requirements could materially affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
In many cases, as a condition to obtaining or maintaining permits and approvals or otherwise, we are required to comply with financial assurance requirements of governmental authorities. The purpose of these requirements is to provide comfort to the government that sufficient funds will be available for the ultimate closure, post-closure care or reclamation of our facilities.
In some cases, we comply through the satisfaction of applicable state financial strength tests. But, if we are unable to do so, we must utilize alternative methods of complying with these requirements; if we do not,we would be prevented from continuing our operations and also could be subject to enforcement proceedings brought by relevant government agencies. Alternative compliance methods include providing credit support in the form of cash escrows or trusts, surety bonds from surety or insurance companies, letters of credit from banks, or other forms of financial instruments or collateral to satisfy the financial assurance requirements. Use of alternative means of financial assurance imposes additional expense on us. Some of them, such as letters of credit, also use a portion of our available liquidity. Other alternative means of financial assurance, such as surety bonds, generally require us to obtain a discharge of the bonds or to post additional collateral (typically in the form of cash or letters of credit) at the request of the issuer of the bonds. Collateral that is required may be in forms that utilize a portion of our available liquidity, or in the form of assets such as real estate, which reduces our flexibility to manage or sell assets.
We have included additional discussion about financial assurance requirements under “Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Obligations–Other Commercial Commitments” in our Management’s Analysis.
Regulatory restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change regulations in the U.S., Canada or elsewhere could adversely affect us, and these effects could be material.
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Various governmental initiatives to limit greenhouse gas emissions are under way or under consideration around the world. These initiatives could restrict our operating activities, require us to make changes in our operating activities that would increase our operating costs, reduce our efficiency or limit our output, require us to make capital improvements to our facilities, increase our energy, raw material and transportation costs or limit their availability, or otherwise adversely affect our results of operations, liquidity or capital resources, and these effects could be material to us.
Governmental greenhouse gas emission initiatives include, among others, the December 2015 agreement (the “Paris Agreement”) which was the outcome of the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”). The Paris Agreement, which was signed by nearly 200 nations, including the U.S. and Canada, entered into force in late 2016 and sets out a goal of limiting the average rise in temperatures for this century to below 2 degrees Celsius. Each signatory is expected to develop its own plan (referred to as a Nationally Determined Contribution, or “NDC”) for reaching that goal.
In May 2017, the U.S. announced that the it would withdraw from the Paris Agreement. In January 2021, the U.S. rejoined. Previously, the U.S. had submitted an NDC aiming to achieve, by 2025, an economy-wide target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% below its 2005 level. The NDC also aims to use best efforts to reduce emissions by 28%. The U.S. target covers all greenhouse gases that were a part of the 2014 Inventory ofGreenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks. While the extent of the U.S.’s involvement in the Paris Agreement and the status of this NDC is unclear, various legislative or regulatory initiatives relating to greenhouse gases have been adopted or considered by the U.S. Congress, the EPA or various states and those initiatives already adopted may be used to implement a U.S. NDC. Additionally, more stringent laws and regulations may be enacted to accomplish the goals set out in the NDC.
Brazil ratified the Paris Agreement in September 2016, committing to an NDC that includes an economy-wide target of 1.3 GtCO2e by 2025 and 1.2 GtCO2e by 2030. In 2020, Brazil submitted a new NDC, which reaffirms the country’s commitment to reducing total net greenhouse gas emissions by 37% in 2025 and by 43% in 2030. The NDC further commits to achieving climate neutrality in 2060. Complete details surrounding Brazil’s plan for achieving the greenhouse gas emissions reductions and climate neutrality are uncertain. The government of Brazil may intervene with new or different policy instruments to meet the goals set out in the 2020 NDC.
Canada’s intended NDC aims to achieve, by 2030, an economy-wide target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels. The Canadian federal government has also introduced legislation establishing a long-term target of “net-zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. More stringent laws and regulations may be enacted to accomplish the goals set out in Canada’s NDC and Canada’s own long-term emissions reduction targets.
In March, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules on climate change disclosure requirements that, if adopted as proposed, will require disclosure of extensive detailed climate-related information. It is possible that such legislation and other future legislation or regulation addressing climate change, including the Paris Agreement or any new international agreements, could adversely affect our operating activities, energy, raw material and transportation costs, results of operations, liquidity or capital resources, and these effects could be material or adversely impact our competitive advantage. In addition, to the extent climate change restrictions imposed in countries where our competitors operate, such as India, former Soviet Union countries or Morocco, are less stringent than in the U.S., Canada or Brazil our competitors could gain cost or other competitive advantages over us.
We use tailings, sediments and water to manage residual materials generated by our facilities, including Brazilian mining operations. If our safety procedures are not effective, an accident involving these impoundments could result in serious injuries or death, damage to property or the environment, or result in the shutdown of our facilities, any of which could materially adversely affect our results of operations.
Mining and processing of potash and phosphate generate residual materials that must be managed both during the operation of the facility and upon facility closure. Potash tailings, consisting primarily of salt and clay, are stored in surface disposal sites. Phosphate residuals from mining or processing are deposited in large tailing dams and in clay settling areas and phosphogypsum stacks. They are regularly monitored to evaluate structural stability and for leaks. The failure of or a breach at any of ourimpoundments at any of our operations could cause severe property and environmental damage and loss of life, could result in the shut down or idling of our facilities and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
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Legislation at both Brazilian federal and state levels has introduced new rules regarding tailings dam safety, construction, licensing and operations. We cannot predict the full impact of these legislative or potentially related judicial actions, or future actions, or whether or how it would affect our Brazilian operations or customers.
Any accident involving our tailings or other dams, or any shut down or idling of our related mines, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Competitive Risks
Our competitive position could be adversely affected if we are unable to participate in continuing industry consolidation.
Most of our products are readily available from a number of competitors, and price and other competition in the crop nutrient industry is intense. In addition, crop nutrient production facilities and distribution activities frequently benefit from economies of scale. As a result, particularly during pronounced cyclical troughs, the crop nutrient industry has a long history of consolidation. Mosaic itself is the result of a number of industry consolidations. We expect consolidation among crop nutrient producers could continue. Our competitive position could suffer to the extent we are not able to expand our own resources either through consolidations, acquisitions, joint ventures or partnerships. In the future, we may not be able to find suitable companies to combine with, assets to purchase or joint venture or partnership opportunities to pursue. Even if we are able to locate desirable opportunities, we may not be able to enter into transactions on economically acceptable terms. If we do not successfully participate in continuing industry consolidation, our ability to compete successfully could be adversely affected and result in the loss of customers or an uncompetitive cost structure, which could adversely affect our sales and profitability.
Our strategy for managing market and interest rate risk may not be effective.
Our businesses are affected by fluctuations in market prices for our products, the purchase price of natural gas, ammonia and sulfur consumed in operations, freight and shipping costs, foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. We periodically enter into derivatives and forward purchase contracts to mitigate some of these risks. However, our strategy may not be successful in minimizing our exposure to these fluctuations. See “Market Risk” in our Management’s Analysis and Note 15 of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements that is incorporated by reference in this report in Part II, Item 8.
A shortage or unavailability of trucks, railcars, tugs, barges and ships for carrying our products and the raw materials we use in our business could result in customer dissatisfaction, loss of production or sales and higher transportation or equipment costs.
We rely heavily upon truck, rail, tug, barge and ocean freight transportation to obtain the raw materials we need to distribute raw materials among our mines and concentrates facilities and to deliver our products to our customers. In addition, the cost of transportation is an important part of the final sale price of our products. Finding affordable and dependable transportation is important in obtaining our raw materials and to supply our customers. Higher costs for these transportation services or an interruption or slowdown due to factors including high demand, high fuel prices, labor disputes, layoffs or other factors affecting the availability of qualified transportation workers, adverse weather or other environmental events, or changes to rail, barge or ocean freight systems, could negatively affect our ability to produce our products or deliver them to our customers, which could affect our performance and results of operations.
Strong demand for grain and other products and a strong world economy increases the demand for and reduces the availability of transportation, both domestically and internationally. Shortages of railcars, barges and ocean transport for carrying product and increased transit time may result in customer dissatisfaction, loss of sales and higher equipment and transportation costs. In addition, during periods when the shipping industry has a shortage of ships, the substantial time needed to build new ships prevents rapid market response. Delays and missed shipments due to transportation shortages, including vessels, barges, railcars and trucks, could result in customer dissatisfaction or loss of sales potential, which could negatively affect our performance and results of operations.
Our success will continue to depend on our ability to attract and retain highly qualified and motivated employees.
We believe our continued success depends on the collective abilities and efforts of our employees. Like many businesses, a significant number of our employees, including some of our most highly skilled employees with specialized expertise in general corporate matters, potash and phosphates operations, will be approaching retirement age throughout the next decade
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and beyond. In addition, we compete for a talented workforce with other businesses, particularly within the mining and chemicals industries, in general, and the crop nutrients industry, in particular. Our expansion plans are highly dependent on our ability to attract, retain and train highly qualified and motivated employees who are essential to the success of our ongoing operations as well as to our expansion plans. If we were to be unsuccessful in attracting, retaining and training the employees we require, our ongoing operations and expansion plans could be materially and adversely affected.
Our most important products are global commodities, and we face intense global competition from other crop nutrient producers that can affect our prices and volumes.
Our most important products are concentrated phosphate crop nutrients, including diammonium phosphate, or DAP, monoammonium phosphate, or MAP, MicroEssentials® and muriate of potash, or MOP. We sell most of our DAP, MAP and MOP in the form of global commodities. Our sales of these products face intense global competition from other crop nutrient producers.
Changes in competitors’ production or shifts in their marketing focus have in the past significantly affected both the prices at which we sell our products and the volumes that we sell, and are likely to continue to do so in the future. Increases in the global supply of DAP, MAP and MOP or competitors’ increased sales into regions in which we have significant sales could adversely affect our prices and volumes.
Competitors and new entrants in the markets for both concentrated phosphate crop nutrients and potash have in recent years expanded capacity, or begun, or announced plans, to expand capacity or build new facilities. The extent to which current global or local economic and financial conditions, changes in global or local economic and financial conditions, or other factors may cause delays or cancellation of some of these ongoing or planned projects, or result in the acceleration of existing or new projects, is unclear. In addition, certain of our products sold to China may be subject to additional tariffs due to ongoing trade tensions between China and the U.S.. The level of exports by Chinese producers of concentrated phosphate crop nutrients depends to a significant extent on Chinese government actions to curb exports through, among other measures, prohibitive export taxes at times when the government believes it desirable to assure ample domestic supplies of concentrated phosphate crop nutrients to stimulate grain and oilseed production.
In addition, the other member of Canpotex is among our competitors who may, in the future, independently expand its potash production capacity at a time when each Canpotex member’s respective shares of Canpotex sales is based upon that member’s respective proven peaking capacity for producing potash. When a Canpotex member expands its production capacity, the new capacity is added to that member’s proven peaking capacity based on a proving run at the maximum production level. Alternatively, Canpotex members may elect to rely on an independent engineering firm and approved protocols to calculate their proven peaking capacity. Antitrust and competition laws prohibit the members of Canpotex from coordinating their production decisions, including the timing of their respective proving runs. Worldwide potash production levels could exceed then-current market demand, resulting in an oversupply of potash and lower potash prices.
All of the foregoing events are beyond our control. The effects of any of these events occurring could be materially adverse to our results of operations.
Some of our competitors and potential competitors have greater resources than we do, which may place us at a competitive disadvantage and adversely affect our sales and profitability. These competitors include state-owned and government-subsidized entities in other countries.
We compete with a number of producers throughout the world, including state-owned and government-subsidized entities. Some of these entities have greater total resources than we do, and may be less dependent on earnings from crop nutrients sales than we are. In addition, some of these entities have access to lower cost or government-subsidized natural gas supplies, mining rights and reserves, financing, transportation and tax incentives, placing us at a competitive disadvantage. Furthermore, certain governments as owners of some of our competitors may be willing to accept lower prices and profitability on their products in order to support domestic employment or other political or social goals. To the extent other producers of crop nutrients enjoy competitive advantages or are willing to accept lower profit levels, the price of our products, our sales volumes and our profits may be adversely affected.
Industry Risks
Future product or technological innovation could affect our business.
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Future product or technological innovations by third parties, such as the development of seeds that require less crop nutrients, the development of substitutes for our products or developments in the application of crop nutrients, if they occur, could have the potential to adversely affect the demand for our products and our results of operations, liquidity and capital resources.
The success of our strategic initiatives depends on our ability to effectively manage these initiatives, and to successfully integrate and grow acquired businesses.
We have significant ongoing strategic initiatives, including our plans to expand the annual production capacity of our potash business and MWSPC. These strategic initiatives involve capital and other expenditures and require effective project management and, in the case of potential strategic acquisitions, successful integration. To the extent the processes we (or, for our joint venture, we together with our joint venture partners) put in place to manage these initiatives or integrate and grow acquired businesses are not effective, our capital expenditure and other costs may exceed our expectations or the benefits we expect from these initiatives might not be fully realized, or both, thereby resulting in adverse effects on our operating results and financial condition.
Cyberattacks could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse impact on our business.
As a global company, we utilize and rely upon information technology systems in many aspects of our business, including internal and external communications and the management of our accounting, financial, production and supply chain functions. As we become more dependent on information technologies to conduct our operations, and as the number and sophistication of cyberattacks increase, the risks associated with cyber security increase. These risks apply to us, our employees, and to third parties on whose systems we rely for the conduct of our business. We have experienced cyberattacks but to our knowledge, we have not experienced any material breaches of our technology systems. Failure to effectively anticipate, prevent, detect and recover from the increasing number and sophistication of cyberattacks could result in theft, loss or misuse of, or damage or modification of our information, and cause disruptions or delays in our business, reputational damage and third-party claims, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.
Our crop nutrients and other products are subject to price and demand volatility resulting from periodic imbalances of supply and demand, which may cause our results of operations to fluctuate.
Historically, the market for crop nutrients has been cyclical, and prices and demand for our products have fluctuated significantly. Periods of high demand, increasing profits and high capacity utilization tend to lead to new plant investment and increased production in the industry. This growth increases supply until the market is over-saturated, leading to declining prices and declining capacity utilization until the cycle repeats.
As a result, crop nutrient prices and volumes have been, and are expected to continue to be, volatile. This price and volume volatility may cause our results of operations to fluctuate and potentially deteriorate. The price at which we sell our crop nutrient products and our sales volumes could fall in the event of industry oversupply conditions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In contrast, high prices may lead our customers and farmers to delay purchasing decisions in anticipation of future lower prices, thus impacting our sales volumes.
Due to reduced market demand, depressed agricultural economic conditions and other factors, we and our predecessors have at various times suspended or curtailed production at some of our facilities. The extent to which we utilize available capacity at our facilities will cause fluctuations in our results of operations, as we will incur costs for any temporary or indefinite shutdowns of our facilities. In addition, lower sales tend to lead to higher fixed costs as a percentage of sales.
Financial Risks
During periods when the prices for our products are falling because of falling raw material prices,we could be required to write-down the value of our inventories. Any such write-down could adversely affect our results of operations and the value of our assets.
We carry our inventories at the lower of cost or market. In periods when the market prices for our products are falling rapidly, including in response to falling market prices for raw materials, it is possible that we could be required to write-down the value of our inventories if market prices fall below our costs. Any such write-down could adversely affect our results of operations and the value of our assets. Any such effect could be material.
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Our estimates of future selling prices reflect in part the purchase commitments we have from our customers. As a result, defaults on these existing purchase commitments because of the global or local economic and financial conditions or for other reasons could adversely affect our estimates of future selling prices and require additional inventory write-downs.
We may incur significant non-cash charges if our goodwill or long-lived assets become impaired in the future.
Under accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”), we review goodwill for impairment on an annual basis or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate that their carrying value may not be recoverable. Other long-lived assets, including property, plant and equipment, are reviewed if events or circumstances indicate that their carrying value may not be recoverable. The process of impairment testing involves a number of judgments and estimates made by management, including the fair values of assets and liabilities, future cash flows, our interpretation of current economic indicators and market conditions, overall economic conditions and our strategic operational plans with regard to our business units. If the judgments and estimates used in our analysis are not realized or change due to external factors, then actual results may not be consistent with these judgments and estimates, and our goodwill and intangible assets may become impaired in future periods. If our goodwill or long-lived assets are determined to be impaired in the future, we may be required to record non-cash charges to earnings during the period in which the impairment is determined, which could be significant and have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We have, in the past, and may in the future, be required to write down the value of our goodwill or other long-lived assets, and such future write downs could be material. See Note 10, Goodwill and Note 26, Mine Closure Costs, in the accompanying consolidated financial statements for further information related to charges incurred in 2019.
Changes in tax laws or regulations or their interpretation, or exposure to additional tax liabilities, could materially adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
We are subject to taxes, including income taxes, resource taxes and royalties, and non-income based taxes in the U.S., Canada, China, Brazil and other countries where we operate. Changes in tax laws or regulations or their interpretation could result in higher taxes, which could materially adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
In 2018, U.S. federal tax law changes took effect. This was a significant change to the U.S. system of taxation resulting in numerous areas open to interpretation given the newness and breadth of changes to the rules. As a result, risk exists related to developing interpretation and application of the rules that could result in higher taxes which could materially adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.
We are subject to periodic audits by various levels of tax authorities in all countries where we have meaningful operations. The due process, audit and appeal practices and procedures of such authorities may vary significantly by jurisdiction, may be unpredictable (and unreliable) in nature and may result in significant risk to us. For various reasons, some governments may issue significant reassessments on audit based positions not fully grounded in law or fact, even though, upon disputing the reassessments, a great many are overturned on administrative appeal and through the court system. Certain systems involve tax litigation as a common practice. In certain countries, there are requirements to pay a reassessment (even though the matter has not been finally decided by the tax administration or a court of law) while the taxpayer has a well-supported objection and appeals administratively or in court. This may result in tying up significant funds and/or creating adverse treasury and credit risks that may interrupt, impede or otherwise materially affect our business operations.
We extend trade credit to our customers and guarantee the financing that some of our customers use to purchase our products. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if these customers are unable to repay the trade credit from us or financing from their banks. Increases in prices for crop nutrient, other agricultural inputs and grain may increase this risk.
We extend trade credit to our customers in the U.S. and throughout the world, in some cases for extended periods of time. In Brazil, where there are fewer third-party financing sources available to farmers, we also have several programs under which we guarantee customers’ financing from financial institutions that they use to purchase our products. As our exposure to longer trade credit extends throughout the world and use of guarantees in Brazil increases, we are increasingly exposed to the risk that some of our customers will not pay us or the amounts we have guaranteed. Additionally, we become increasingly exposed to risk due to weather and crop growing conditions, fluctuations in crop nutrient prices, commodity prices or foreign currencies, and other factors that influence the price, supply and demand for agricultural commodities. Significant defaults by our customers could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
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Due to the global nature of our operations, we are exposed to currency exchange rate changes, which may cause fluctuations in earnings and cash flows.