Company: CF
Filing Date: 2025-05-08
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0001324404-25-000015
Chunk: 6

Company: CF Industries Holdings, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-05-08
Form: 10-Q
Item: Part I, Item 2
Chunk 6
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 first quarter of 2025 compared to 4.5 million in the first quarter of 2024. Higher sales volume resulted in an increase in net sales of approximately $176 million. The increase in sales volume was due primarily to higher supply availability as a result of increased production in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2024, which was adversely impacted by production outages from a winter storm in January 2024. 

Nitrogen Selling Prices

Our nitrogen products are globally traded commodities with selling prices that fluctuate in response to global market conditions, changes in supply and demand, and other cost factors including domestic and local conditions. Intense global competition—reflected in import volumes and prices—strongly influences delivered prices for nitrogen fertilizers. In general, the prevailing global prices for nitrogen products must be at a level to incent the high-cost marginal producer to produce products at a breakeven price or above, or else they would cease production and leave a portion of global demand unsatisfied.

In the first quarter of 2025, the average selling price for our products was $332 per ton, or 2% higher, compared to $325 per ton in the first quarter of 2024. This resulted in an increase in net sales of approximately $17 million for the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2024. Average selling prices for most of our major products were higher in the first quarter of 2025 than in the first quarter of 2024 as higher global energy costs due in part to gas curtailments in Iran and Trinidad and higher gas costs in Europe, raised the global market clearing price required to meet global demand, including continued strong demand in India and the Northern Hemisphere.

Natural Gas

Natural gas is the principal raw material used to produce our nitrogen products. Natural gas is both a chemical feedstock and a fuel used to produce nitrogen products. Natural gas is a significant cost component of our manufactured nitrogen products, representing approximately 37% and 28% of our production costs in the first three months of 2025 and the year ended December 31, 2024, respectively. Most of our manufacturing facilities are located in the United States and Canada. As a result, the price of natural gas in North America, which has historically been volatile, directly impacts a substantial portion of our operating expenses.

In the first quarter of 2025, colder-than-normal temperatures increased the demand for heating across North America, driving natural gas prices higher compared