CORRECTED - UPDATE 2-Agrium third-quarter profit plummets
(Fixes paragraph 8 to show the forecast refers to fourth-quarter 2009 and not second-half 2009)
* Q3 EPS $0.16 Vs $2.31 a yr-ago
* Excluding items, Q3 EPS $0.29
* Quarterly revenue down 41 pct to $1.89 bln
* Shares up 2 percent in early trading (Adds details on results; All figures in U.S. dollars)
TORONTO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Canadian fertilizer maker and agricultural products retailer Agrium Inc (AGU.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (AGU.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reported a 93 percent plunge in its third-quarter profit on Wednesday, largely due to lower prices and margins on crop nutrient sales.
Agrium, which is locked in a lengthy battle to take over U.S. rival CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said it earned $26 million, or 16 cents a share in the quarter, compared with a year-earlier profit of $367 million, or $2.31 a share.
Excluding one-time items, the Calgary, Alberta-based company said quarterly earnings would have been $46 million, or 29 cents a share.
The company said earnings from its retail business this quarter were impacted by lower fungicide application rates, along with weak fertilizer demand. Continued...
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