UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
 
 
FORM 8-K
 
 
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 21, 2014
 
 
THE MOSAIC COMPANY
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
 
 
 
 
Delaware
 
001-32327
 
20-1026454
(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation)
 
(Commission
File Number)
 
(IRS Employer
Identification No.)
3033 Campus Drive
Suite E490
Plymouth, Minnesota
 
55441
 
 
(Address of principal executive offices)
 
(Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (800) 918-8270
Not applicable
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
 
 
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
 
¨
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
¨
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
¨

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
¨

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
 
 






Item 2.06.
Material Impairments.
On July 21, 2014, The Mosaic Company (“Mosaic,” and Mosaic and its subsidiaries, individually or in any combination, “we,” “us” or “our”) decided to permanently discontinue production of muriate of potash (“MOP”) at our Carlsbad, New Mexico facility. The final date for production is expected to be December 31, 2014.

The decision is based on the quality of the ore in the Carlsbad basin and the age of the facility's infrastructure. These combined factors make it difficult for the operations to remain competitive in an already challenging global market. The discontinuation of this product at Carlsbad is a further step in our previously announced ongoing asset optimization initiatives. Our larger potash production facilities at Esterhazy, Belle Plaine and Colonsay in Saskatchewan, Canada will continue to produce MOP.

Mosaic’s plan for the immediate future is to transition the Carlsbad facility to the exclusive production of our highly valued K-Mag® product line. K-Mag is a premium potash product that currently represents approximately 70 percent of production at the Carlsbad facility and is a long-term strategic asset for us.

We currently estimate that the discontinued production will result in total pre-tax charges in the range of $135 million to $160 million (primarily in the form of non-cash accelerated depreciation and depletion charges of approximately $105 million to $130 million and cash severance charges of $10 million to $20 million). The third quarter pre-tax charges are estimated to be in the range of $55 million to $75 million with the majority of the remainder expected to be recorded in the fourth quarter.
*****
This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the Northern Promise Joint Venture, the acquisition and assumption of certain related liabilities of the Florida phosphate assets of CF Industries, Inc. (“CF”) and Mosaic’s ammonia supply agreements with CF; repurchases of stock; other proposed or pending future transactions or strategic plans and other statements about future financial and operating results. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of The Mosaic Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to risks and uncertainties arising from the ability of the Northern Promise Joint Venture to obtain additional planned funding in acceptable amounts and upon acceptable terms, the future success of current plans for the Northern Promise Joint Venture and any future changes in those plans; difficulties with realization of the benefits of the transactions with CF, including the risks that the acquired assets may not be integrated successfully or that the cost or capital savings from the transactions may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected, or the price of natural gas or ammonia changes to a level at which the natural gas based pricing under one of the long term ammonia supply agreements with CF becomes disadvantageous to Mosaic; customer defaults; the effects of Mosaic’s decisions to exit business operations or locations; the predictability and volatility of, and customer expectations about, agriculture, fertilizer, raw material, energy and transportation markets that are subject to competitive and other pressures and economic and credit market conditions; the level of inventories in the distribution channels for crop nutrients; changes in foreign currency and exchange rates; international trade risks and other risks associated with Mosaic’s international operations and those of joint ventures in which Mosaic participates, including the risk that protests against natural resource companies in Peru extend to or impact the Miski Mayo mine; changes in government policy; changes in environmental and other governmental regulation, including greenhouse gas regulation, implementation of numeric water quality standards for the discharge of nutrients into Florida waterways or possible efforts to reduce the flow of excess nutrients into the Mississippi River basin or the Gulf of Mexico; further developments in judicial or administrative proceedings, or complaints that Mosaic’s operations are adversely impacting nearby farms, business operations or properties; difficulties or delays in receiving, increased costs of or challenges to necessary governmental permits or approvals or increased financial assurance requirements; resolution of global tax audit activity; the effectiveness of Mosaic’s processes for managing its strategic priorities; adverse weather conditions affecting operations in Central Florida, the Mississippi River basin or the Gulf Coast of the United States, and including potential hurricanes, excess rainfall or drought; actual costs of various items differing from management’s current estimates, including, among others, asset retirement, environmental remediation, reclamation or other environmental regulation, Canadian resources taxes and royalties, the liabilities Mosaic has assumed in the phosphate assets acquisition from CF, the cost of Mosaic’s commitments to repurchase its stock, or the costs of the Northern Promise Joint Venture, its existing or future funding and our commitments in support of such funding; reduction of Mosaic’s available cash and liquidity, and increased leverage, due to its use of cash and/or available debt capacity to fund share repurchases, financial assurance requirements and strategic investments; brine inflows at Mosaic’s Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, potash mine or other potash shaft mines; other accidents and disruptions involving Mosaic’s operations, including potential mine fires, floods, explosions, seismic events or releases of hazardous or volatile chemicals, as well as other risks and uncertainties reported from time to time in The Mosaic Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.








SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE MOSAIC COMPANY
 
 
 
 
Date: July 23, 2014
 
 
 
By:
 
/s/ Mark J. Isaacson
 
 
 
 
Name:
 
Mark J. Isaacson
 
 
 
 
Title:
 
Vice President, Acting General
 
 
 
 
 
 
Counsel and Corporate Secretary