Stephen R. Wilson
Analyst · Susquehanna Financial
Thanks, Dan, and good morning, everyone. Last year, during our fourth quarter earnings call, I stated that we expected 2012 to be a great year, and it was. Looking at just about any metric, whether operational, financial or strategic, we generated exceptional results. We set full year records for sales volume, revenue, EBITDA, earnings and earnings per share. Using the flexibility of our production and distribution system, our employees made sure that our products were in the right place at the right time to meet our customer commitments. In meeting those commitments, we generated great results for shareholders. Despite a heavier-than-average turnaround schedule that reduced our available production volume, we shipped record full year volume of 15 million tons in 2012. This record reflects the ingenuity and skill of our team who did a terrific job of managing our inventory. Capitalizing on the inherent advantages of our ammonia distribution system and the hard work of our team, we set a full year ammonia delivery record. Attractive nitrogen economics helped us obtain several financial records for the year. These included full year revenues of $6.1 billion, EBITDA of $3.3 billion, net earnings of $1.8 billion and earnings per share of $28.59. We also generated record operating cash flow of $2.4 billion. We returned a significant portion of that cash to our shareholders in the second quarter by completing the $1.5 billion share repurchase program we put in place in August 2011. We bought a total of 9.6 million shares under this program at an average price of $156.80 per share and completed it in less than one year. Cash generation capacity of our business gave us the confidence to make the bold strategic commitments we announced last year. First, we entered into an agreement to purchase the remaining 34% interest in CFL, the entity that holds our Medicine Hat Alberta Nitrogen Complex, for approximately CAD 900 million, and we're working our way through the regulatory approval process as we speak. And our board authorized a new $3 billion share repurchase program, which extends through December 31, 2016. While we didn't repurchase any shares under the program during 2012, our track record of past execution of share repurchases support our commitment to this program. And finally, we announced and are moving forward with $3.8 billion of capacity expansion projects in Louisiana and Iowa, which, upon completion, will increase our marketable nitrogen volume by more than 25% to 8.5 million nutrient tons by 2016. These actions are grounded in disciplined and rigorous analysis and represent smart choices that we believe will contribute to long-term shareholder value. Yesterday afternoon, we announced our fourth quarter 2012 financial results, including record fourth quarter earnings of $471 million and EPS of $7.40 on total revenues of $1.5 billion. Our Nitrogen segment generated very strong results last quarter, with adjusted gross margin at $750 million on adjusted sales of $1.4 billion. Sales volume of 3.3 million tons was a result of healthy demand for all nitrogen products, especially ammonia, and adjusted gross margin increased from last year, reflecting the benefit of low natural gas cost. During the fourth quarter, we experienced strong ammonia demand across Iowa, Illinois and Indiana as weather alleviated moisture concerns there, and the dry conditions in Nebraska and Kansas did not have as much impact as expected. We dealt effectively with logistical challenges created by low water levels on the inland river system by capitalizing on our end market production points and our access to ammonia pipelines, river transportation and several rail systems. In doing so, we achieved quarterly delivery records at 6 of our 21 ammonia terminals. We had low ammonia inventory levels throughout the quarter, even hitting an all-time low since the combination of CF Industries and Terra. And our low year-end ammonia inventory position reflected tight industry-wide supply, strong fall demand and gas curtailments that have impacted some offshore producers. Our adjusted average ammonia selling price was $640 per ton, 5% higher than a year ago. Seasonal slowness characterized the fall urea market, although high Chinese export volumes weighed on global urea prices. We saw high-cost offshore producers, again demonstrate rational economic behavior in response to these prices. When prices reached what we believe are those producers' breakeven points, they shut down plants and took turnarounds, which helped balance the market. While our urea volumes increased slightly, our urea prices did decline to an average of $401 on an adjusted basis. But as we've communicated before, this is a price at which we still earn a very attractive margin. UAN demand was very strong in the fourth quarter of 2011, which created a tough year-over-year comparison for us this past year. While our UAN prices and volume were lower in this year's fourth quarter, they were still at levels that reflect healthy demand. And I'm pleased with the way our UAN team performed this year as they have positioned us very well for what we believe will be a strong 2013. The low price of natural gas enabled us to capitalize on our strong revenue performance to deliver another quarter of great earnings. Thanks to the decline in our gas costs, our Nitrogen segment's adjusted gross margin increased from $742 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 to $750 million in 2012. The decline in natural gas costs attributed to the rapid growth in shale production has led to the advantaged cost position of North American nitrogen manufacturers and has sparked a renaissance in North American industrial activity. Our Phosphate business generated fourth quarter gross profit of $36 million on sales of $256 million. Gross profit and sales were down from a year ago as the international phosphate market was weaker during this year's fourth quarter due to limited buying activity in South America and India. Adding to market weakness was a higher level of supply as phosphate producers operated at higher rates. While these factors contributed to a weaker pricing environment, we did see strong North American sales volume as farmers applied nutrients in preparation for the high number of acres expected to be planted in 2013, as I'll discuss later. We're delighted with the successes we realized and the results we generated during 2012. Record financial results, exceptional operating performance and a tightly focused capital allocation strategy supported strong CF Industries stock price performance in 2012. Dennis will now walk through more specifics of our financial results, and then I'll provide my thoughts on how we're positioned to make 2013 another successful year.