Nutrien delivers earnings growth and expects strong market fundamentals in 2023
Saskatoon, saskatchewan--(business wire)--nutrien ltd. (tsx and nyse: ntr) announced today its third quarter 2022 results, with net earnings of $1.6 billion ($2.94 diluted net earnings per share), which includes a non-cash impairment reversal of $330 million relating to our phosphate operations. third quarter 2022 adjusted net earnings per share1 were $2.51 and adjusted ebitda1 was $2.5 billion. “nutrien has delivered record earnings in 2022 due to the strength of agriculture fundamentals, higher fertilizer prices and excellent retail performance. during the third quarter, we saw a temporary reduction in potash purchasing in north america and brazil, which has impacted our sales volumes and realized prices in the second half of the year. however, the underlying demand drivers remain strong and global fertilizer supply challenges still persist, creating a supportive environment for nutrien as we look ahead to 2023 and beyond,” commented ken seitz, nutrien’s president and ceo. “we are focused on efficiently supplying our customers with the products and services they need to help sustainably feed a growing world. we continue to take a multi-year view of the market and remain confident that our additional low-cost potash and nitrogen production capability will be required to meet future demand,” added mr. seitz. highlights: nutrien generated record net earnings of $6.6 billion and adjusted ebitda1 of $10.1 billion in the first nine months of 2022 due to higher realized prices and strong retail performance, more than offsetting a reduction in fertilizer sales volumes. as a result, cash provided by operating activities improved to $3.4 billion in the first nine months of 2022. nutrien revised full-year 2022 adjusted ebitda guidance1 and adjusted net earnings per share guidance1 to $12.2 to $13.2 billion and $13.25 to $14.50 per share, respectively. nutrien ag solutions (“retail”) delivered record adjusted ebitda in the first nine months of 2022, due to supportive market conditions in key regions where we operate. retail cash operating coverage ratio1 as at september 30, 2022 improved to 55 percent compared to 59 percent for the same period in 2021 driven by higher margins. potash adjusted ebitda increased in the third quarter and the first nine months of 2022 compared to the prior year due to higher net realized selling prices and record offshore sales volumes, more than offsetting lower north american sales volumes. nitrogen third quarter and first nine months of 2022 adjusted ebitda increased compared to the prior year due to higher net realized selling prices that more than offset higher natural gas costs and lower ammonia and urea sales volumes. in the third quarter of 2022, we recognized a non-cash impairment reversal of $330 million associated with our phosphate operations and $780 million for the first nine months due to a more favorable outlook for phosphate margins. nutrien repurchased approximately 40 million shares year-to-date as of november 1, 2022, under our share repurchase programs, for a total of approximately $3.5 billion. nutrien plans to allocate approximately $4 billion to share repurchases in 2022. while some repurchases may now extend into the first quarter of 2023 due to lower forecasted operating cash flow in 2022, we still intend on completing our existing 10 percent share repurchase program prior to its expiry in february 2023. management’s discussion and analysis the following management’s discussion and analysis (“md&a”) is the responsibility of management and is dated as of november 2, 2022. the board of directors (“board”) of nutrien carries out its responsibility for review of this disclosure principally through its audit committee, comprised exclusively of independent directors. the audit committee reviews and, prior to its publication, approves this disclosure pursuant to the authority delegated to it by the board. the term “nutrien” refers to nutrien ltd. and the terms “we”, “us”, “our”, “nutrien” and “the company” refer to nutrien and, as applicable, nutrien and its direct and indirect subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. additional information relating to nutrien (which, except as otherwise noted, is not incorporated by reference herein), including our annual report dated february 17, 2022 (“2021 annual report”), which includes our annual audited consolidated financial statements and md&a, and our annual information form dated february 17, 2022 (“2021 annual information form”), each for the year ended december 31, 2021, can be found on sedar at www.sedar.com and on edgar at www.sec.gov. no update is provided to the disclosure in our 2021 annual md&a except for material information since the date of our annual md&a. the company is a foreign private issuer under the rules and regulations of the us securities and exchange commission (the “sec”). this md&a is based on and should be read in conjunction with the company’s unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements as at and for the three and nine months ended september 30, 2022 (“interim financial statements”) based on international financial reporting standards (“ifrs”) as issued by the international accounting standards board and prepared in accordance with international accounting standard 34 “interim financial reporting”, unless otherwise noted. this md&a contains certain non-ifrs financial measures and ratios and forward-looking statements, which are described in the “non-ifrs financial measures” and the “forward-looking statements” sections, respectively. market outlook and guidance agriculture and retail global grain stocks-to-use ratio, excluding china, is projected to decline to the lowest level in more than a quarter century, driven by reduced corn and wheat production expectations in the us and europe. as a result of historically tight supply and demand balances, spot prices of corn, soybeans and wheat are up 25 to 50 percent compared to the 10-year average and we expect strong futures prices will provide an incentive for growers to boost production in 2023. the re-opening of the black sea to ukrainian grain exports positively impacted exports from the region but there is uncertainty over the continuation of the united nations brokered agreement with russia. the us department of agriculture (usda) projects that ukrainian grain exports will decline by 44 percent year-over-year in 2023, in large part driven by reduced production levels. weather has been favorable in north america and we anticipate that the rapid pace of harvest will support strong fall ammonia demand and normal application rates of potash, phosphate and crop protection products. south american spring crop planting is proceeding with a mix of planting conditions. argentina continues to be impacted by la nina-related drought, while planting conditions in much of brazil have generally been favorable. we expect that brazilian soybean acreage will increase by 3 to 4 percent, which is also expected to support a proportional increase in safrinha corn acreage. crop nutrient markets potash shipments from belarus are projected to be down 50 to 60 percent and russia down 20 to 25 percent in 2022 compared to the prior year, in line with our previous expectations. we have lowered our global potash shipment forecast to between 60 and 62 million tonnes in 2022, largely due to the impact of higher-than-expected inventory and cautious buying in north america and brazil during the second half of 2022. we expect robust agricultural fundamentals will support increased potash consumption in 2023 and believe pent-up demand will emerge as inventories are drawn down and prices stabilize. we expect potash supply from eastern europe will continue to be constrained in 2023, with shipments from belarus projected to be down 40 to 60 percent and russia down 15 to 30 percent compared to 2021 levels. global potash shipments are forecast between 64 to 67 million tonnes in 2023, with projected nutrien potash sales volumes of approximately 15 million tonnes. nitrogen prices continue to be supported by historically high european natural gas prices that have led to significant curtailments of ammonia and downstream nitrogen products. shifts in global nitrogen trade flows have led to higher us exports and lower import volumes, which we expect will result in a tight north american supply and demand balance entering 2023. chinese urea and phosphate export restrictions have limited exports in 2022 and are expected to persist into 2023. the restrictions have led to low chinese phosphate operating rates, maintaining relatively tight global phosphate supplies, while contributing to lower global sulfur prices and supporting phosphate production margins. financial guidance nutrien revised its full-year 2022 adjusted ebitda guidance and full-year 2022 adjusted net earnings per share guidance primarily due to lower expected potash earnings as a result of lower potash sales volumes and realized prices, which more than offset stronger expected retail earnings. adjusted net earnings per share guidance includes our plan to allocate approximately $4 billion to share repurchases in 2022. nutrien lowered potash sales volume guidance primarily to reflect the impact of the compressed spring application season in north america that resulted in higher inventory carry-over and cautious purchasing. nutrien lowered nitrogen sales volume guidance to reflect the impact of trinidad gas curtailments during the second half of 2022. all guidance numbers, including those noted above are outlined in the table below. refer to page 53 of nutrien’s 2021 annual report for related assumptions and sensitivities. guidance ranges 1 as of nov 2, 2022 aug 3, 2022 (billions of us dollars, except as otherwise noted) low high low high adjusted net earnings per share 2 13.25 14.50 15.80 17.80 adjusted ebitda 2 12.2 13.2 14.0 15.5 retail adjusted ebitda 2.15 2.25 2.10 2.20 potash adjusted ebitda 5.8 6.2 7.6 8.2 nitrogen adjusted ebitda 4.1 4.4 4.0 4.7 phosphate adjusted ebitda (in millions of us dollars) 700 800 750 850 potash sales tonnes (millions) 3 12.5 12.9 14.3 14.9 nitrogen sales tonnes (millions) 3 10.4 10.5 10.6 11.0 depreciation and amortization 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.1 effective tax rate on adjusted earnings (%) 25.0 26.0 25.5 26.5 sustaining capital expenditures 4 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.4 1 see the "forward-looking statements" section. 2 these are non-ifrs financial measures. see the "non-ifrs financial measures" section. 3 manufactured product only. nitrogen sales tonnes excludes esn® products. 4 this is a supplementary financial measure. see the "other financial measures" section. consolidated results three months ended september 30 nine months ended september 30 (millions of us dollars, except as otherwise noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change sales 8,188 6,024 36 30,351 20,445 48 freight, transportation and distribution 204 220 (7) 628 653 (4) cost of goods sold 4,722 3,639 30 17,205 13,589 27 gross margin 3,262 2,165 51 12,518 6,203 102 expenses 1,056 1,108 (5) 3,368 3,249 4 net earnings 1,583 726 118 6,569 1,972 233 adjusted ebitda 1 2,467 1,642 50 10,075 4,663 116 diluted net earnings per share 2.94 1.25 135 11.96 3.41 251 adjusted net earnings per share 1 2.51 1.38 82 11.10 3.75 196 cash provided by (used in) operating activities 878 (1,565) n/m 3,374 249 n/m free cash flow 1 1,543 862 79 6,770 2,751 146 free cash flow including changes in non-cash operating working capital 1 450 (1,890) n/m 2,496 (544) n/m 1 these are non-ifrs financial measures. see the "non-ifrs financial measures" section. net earnings and adjusted ebitda increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 compared to the same periods in 2021. this was due to higher net realized selling prices from global supply uncertainties across our nutrient businesses and strong retail performance. in the third quarter of 2022, we recorded a non-cash impairment reversal of $330 million related to our phosphate operations, which impacted net earnings and brings the total impairment reversal to $780 million for the first nine months of 2022. cash provided by operating activities increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 compared to the same periods in 2021 due primarily to higher net earnings. segment results our discussion of segment results set out on the following pages is a comparison of the results for the three and nine months ended september 30, 2022 to the results for the three and nine months ended september 30, 2021, unless otherwise noted. nutrien ag solutions (“retail”) three months ended september 30 (millions of us dollars, except dollars gross margin gross margin (%) as otherwise noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 sales crop nutrients 1,605 1,194 34 214 246 (13) 13 21 crop protection products 1,716 1,469 17 436 374 17 25 25 seed 134 140 (4) 33 56 (41) 25 40 merchandise 241 265 (9) 41 44 (7) 17 17 nutrien financial 65 54 20 65 54 20 100 100 services and other 1 244 252 (3) 153 170 (10) 63 67 nutrien financial elimination 1, 2 (25) (27) (7) (25) (27) (7) 100 100 3,980 3,347 19 917 917 ‐ 23 27 cost of goods sold 3,063 2,430 26 gross margin 917 917 ‐ expenses 3 890 808 10 earnings before finance costs and taxes ("ebit") 27 109 (75) depreciation and amortization 206 182 13 ebitda 233 291 (20) adjustments 4 2 ‐ n/m adjusted ebitda 235 291 (19) 1 certain immaterial figures have been reclassified for the three months ended september 30, 2021. 2 represents elimination for the interest and service fees charged by nutrien financial to retail branches. 3 includes selling expenses of $821 million (2021 – $746 million). 4 see note 2 to the interim financial statements. nine months ended september 30 (millions of us dollars, except dollars gross margin gross margin (%) as otherwise noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 sales crop nutrients 7,740 5,255 47 1,417 1,169 21 18 22 crop protection products 6,086 5,220 17 1,523 1,137 34 25 22 seed 1,861 1,819 2 382 362 6 21 20 merchandise 755 763 (1) 133 127 5 18 17 nutrien financial 205 138 49 205 138 49 100 100 services and other 1 729 737 (1) 555 570 (3) 76 77 nutrien financial elimination 1 (113) (76) 49 (113) (76) 49 100 100 17,263 13,856 25 4,102 3,427 20 24 25 cost of goods sold 13,161 10,429 26 gross margin 4,102 3,427 20 expenses 2 2,733 2,467 11 ebit 1,369 960 43 depreciation and amortization 550 528 4 ebitda 1,919 1,488 29 adjustments 3 (17) 9 n/m adjusted ebitda 1,902 1,497 27 1 certain immaterial figures have been reclassified for the nine months ended september 30, 2021. 2 includes selling expenses of $2,556 million (2021 – $2,276 million). 3 see note 2 to the interim financial statements. adjusted ebitda in the first nine months of 2022 increased due to higher sales and gross margins across nearly all product categories and regions where we operate. this was supported by strong agriculture fundamentals, higher selling prices and growth in proprietary products sales. adjusted ebitda decreased in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the prior year’s record results as strong crop protection product margins were offset by lower margins in other product categories as well as inflation on certain expense items in 2022. retail cash operating coverage ratio1 improved as at september 30, 2022 to 55 percent from 59 percent in the same period in 2021 due to significantly higher gross margin. crop nutrients sales increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 due to higher selling prices. gross margin and gross margin per tonne increased in the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period last year due to strategic procurement and the timing of inventory purchasing in the first half of 2022, with a decrease in the third quarter of 2022 due to higher cost inventory. sales volumes decreased in the first nine months of 2022 due to reduced application resulting from a delayed planting season in north america and earlier engagement in the prior year in a rising price environment. crop protection products sales and gross margin increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022, particularly in north america, due to higher prices along with increased sales and gross margin in proprietary products. gross margin as a percentage of sales increased in the first nine months of 2022, supported by the reliability of our supply chain and strategic procurement in a rising price environment. seed sales and gross margin increased in the first nine months of 2022 due to higher pricing and an increase in proprietary seed margins, with a decrease in the third quarter of 2022 as a result of timing and mix of seed sales compared to the same period in 2021. merchandise gross margin for the first nine months of 2022 increased due to strong margin performance in australia animal health products from increased flock and herd sizes, with a decrease in the third quarter of 2022 due to an unfavorable foreign exchange rate impact on australian dollars. nutrien financial sales increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 due to higher utilization and adoption of our programs and a higher interest-bearing trade receivable balance, driven by strong commodity pricing. services and other decreased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 mainly due to lower livestock volumes as wet conditions in australia impeded movement, along with an unfavorable foreign exchange rate impact on australian dollars. potash three months ended september 30 (millions of us dollars, except dollars tonnes (thousands) average per tonne as otherwise noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change manufactured product net sales north america 436 483 (10) 619 1,515 (59) 703 319 120 offshore 1,568 705 122 2,548 2,276 12 616 310 99 2,004 1,188 69 3,167 3,791 (16) 633 313 102 cost of goods sold 386 372 4 122 98 24 gross margin – total 1,618 816 98 511 215 138 expenses 1 352 146 141 depreciation and amortization 35 35 2 ebit 1,266 670 89 gross margin excluding depreciation depreciation and amortization 112 131 (15) and amortization – manufactured 3 546 250 119 ebitda 1,378 801 72 potash controllable cash cost of adjustments 2 ‐ 7 (100) product manufactured 3 70 55 27 adjusted ebitda 1,378 808 71 1 includes provincial mining taxes of $348 million (2021 – $128 million). 2 see note 2 to the interim financial statements. 3 these are non-ifrs financial measures. see the "non-ifrs financial measures" section. nine months ended september 30 (millions of us dollars, except dollars tonnes (thousands) average per tonne as otherwise noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change manufactured product net sales north america 1,949 1,141 71 2,770 4,157 (33) 703 275 156 offshore 4,573 1,475 210 7,149 6,412 11 640 230 178 6,522 2,616 149 9,919 10,569 (6) 658 248 165 cost of goods sold 1,090 980 11 110 93 18 gross margin – total 5,432 1,636 232 548 155 254 expenses 1 975 333 193 depreciation and amortization 36 35 2 ebit 4,457 1,303 242 gross margin excluding depreciation depreciation and amortization 354 371 (5) and amortization – manufactured 584 190 207 ebitda 4,811 1,674 187 potash controllable cash cost of adjustments 2 ‐ 9 (100) product manufactured 56 51 10 adjusted ebitda 4,811 1,683 186 1 includes provincial mining taxes of $959 million (2021 – $293 million). 2 see note 2 to the interim financial statements. adjusted ebitda increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 due to higher net realized selling prices and strong offshore sales volumes, which more than offset lower north american sales volumes, higher royalties and provincial mining taxes. sales volumes decreased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 due to a compressed north american spring application season that resulted in high inventory carry-over along with cautious purchasing. offshore sales volumes were the highest of any first nine-month period on record due to strong demand and reduced supply from eastern europe. net realized selling price increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 due to the impact of supply constraints, in particular related to uncertainty on future supply from russia and belarus. net realized prices decreased from the second quarter of 2022 due to a decline in benchmark pricing, particularly in brazil and north america. cost of goods sold per tonne in the first nine months of 2022 increased primarily due to higher royalties resulting from increased net realized selling prices. potash controllable cash cost of product manufactured increased in the third quarter due to lower production volumes and a pull forward of maintenance activities. canpotex sales by market (percentage of sales volumes, except as three months ended september 30 nine months ended september 30 otherwise noted) 2022 2021 change 2022 2021 change latin america 35 48 (13) 36 38 (2) other asian markets 1 32 28 4 34 35 (1) china 15 7 8 14 11 3 other markets 10 8 2 9 10 (1) india 8 9 (1) 7 6 1 100 100 100 100 1 all asian markets except china and india. nitrogen three months ended september 30 (millions of us dollars, except dollars tonnes (thousands) average per tonne as otherwise noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change manufactured product net sales ammonia 649 368 76 701 721 (3) 927 509 82 urea 393 316 24 651 659 (1) 603 480 26 solutions, nitrates and sulfates 465 289 61 1,274 1,141 12 365 253 44 1,507 973 55 2,626 2,521 4 574 386 49 cost of goods sold 872 591 48 333 234 42 gross margin – manufactured 635 382 66 241 152 59 gross margin – other 1 29 24 21 depreciation and amortization 54 50 8 gross margin – total 664 406 64 gross margin excluding depreciation (income) expenses (50) (1) n/m and amortization – manufactured 2 295 202 46 ebit 714 407 75 ammonia controllable cash cost of depreciation and amortization 141 125 13 product manufactured 2 62 53 17 ebitda/ adjusted ebitda 855 532 61 1 includes other nitrogen (including esn®) and purchased products and comprises net sales of $264 million (2021 – $128 million) less cost of goods sold of $235 million (2021 – $104 million). 2 these are non-ifrs financial measures. see the "non-ifrs financial measures" section. nine months ended september 30 (millions of us dollars, except dollars tonnes (thousands) average per tonne as otherwise noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change manufactured product net sales ammonia 1,952 874 123 1,939 2,129 (9) 1,007 411 145 urea 1,457 911 60 2,052 2,235 (8) 710 407 74 solutions, nitrates and sulfates 1,440 743 94 3,495 3,526 (1) 412 211 95 4,849 2,528 92 7,486 7,890 (5) 648 320 103 cost of goods sold 2,351 1,628 44 314 206 52 gross margin - manufactured 2,498 900 178 334 114 193 gross margin – other 1 84 72 17 depreciation and amortization 54 52 4 gross margin – total 2,582 972 166 gross margin excluding depreciation (income) expenses (105) (1) n/m and amortization – manufactured 388 166 134 ebit 2,687 973 176 ammonia controllable cash cost of depreciation and amortization 403 409 (1) product manufactured 59 52 13 ebitda 3,090 1,382 124 adjustments 2 ‐ 5 (100) adjusted ebitda 3,090 1,387 123 1 includes other nitrogen (including esn®) and purchased products and comprises net sales of $892 million (2021 – $512 million) less cost of goods sold of $808 million (2021 – $440 million). 2 see note 2 to the interim financial statements. adjusted ebitda increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 primarily due to higher net realized selling prices and higher earnings from equity-accounted investees, which more than offset higher natural gas costs and lower ammonia and urea volumes. sales volumes increased in the third quarter of 2022 due to strong demand and higher offshore urea ammonium nitrate (uan) sales that more than offset the impact of gas curtailments in trinidad. sales volumes in the first nine months of 2022 decreased due to unplanned plant outages and a compressed north american spring application season. net realized selling price in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 were higher due to strong benchmark prices resulting from tight global supply and higher energy prices in key nitrogen producing regions. net realized selling prices decreased from the second quarter of 2022 due to a seasonal reset in benchmark prices that resulted in lower nitrogen summer fill pricing. cost of goods sold per tonne in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 increased primarily due to higher natural gas, raw material and other input costs. ammonia controllable cash cost of product manufactured increased in the third quarter and first nine months due to higher input costs, mainly electricity costs. natural gas prices in cost of production three months ended september 30 nine months ended september 30 (us dollars per mmbtu, except as otherwise noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change overall gas cost excluding realized derivative impact 8.33 4.77 75 7.92 3.92 102 realized derivative impact (0.09) 0.01 n/m (0.06) 0.02 n/m overall gas cost 8.24 4.78 72 7.86 3.94 99 average nymex 8.20 4.01 104 6.77 3.18 113 average aeco 4.46 2.83 58 4.34 2.48 75 natural gas prices in our cost of production increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 as a result of higher north american gas index prices and increased gas costs in trinidad, where our gas prices are linked to ammonia benchmark prices. phosphate three months ended september 30 (millions of us dollars, except dollars tonnes (thousands) average per tonne as otherwise noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change manufactured product net sales fertilizer 375 269 39 479 428 12 782 628 25 industrial and feed 192 132 45 161 192 (16) 1,198 689 74 567 401 41 640 620 3 886 648 37 cost of goods sold 445 300 48 695 484 44 gross margin - manufactured 122 101 21 191 164 16 gross margin – other 1 (8) 7 n/m depreciation and amortization 75 63 19 gross margin – total 114 108 6 gross margin excluding depreciation (income) expenses (311) 12 n/m and amortization – manufactured 3 266 227 17 ebit 425 96 343 depreciation and amortization 48 39 23 ebitda 473 135 250 adjustments 2 (330) ‐ n/m adjusted ebitda 143 135 6 1 includes other phosphate and purchased products and comprises net sales of $84 million (2021 – $47 million) less cost of goods sold of $92 million (2021 – $40 million). 2 see notes 2 and 3 to the interim financial statements. includes impairment reversal of assets of $330 million (2021 – nil). 3 this is a non-ifrs financial measure. see the "non-ifrs financial measures" section. nine months ended september 30 (millions of us dollars, except dollars tonnes (thousands) average per tonne as otherwise noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change manufactured product net sales fertilizer 1,093 731 50 1,305 1,331 (2) 837 549 52 industrial and feed 551 365 51 542 577 (6) 1,017 633 61 1,644 1,096 50 1,847 1,908 (3) 890 575 55 cost of goods sold 1,157 853 36 626 448 40 gross margin – manufactured 487 243 100 264 127 108 gross margin – other 1 (10) 15 n/m depreciation and amortization 70 59 20 gross margin – total 477 258 85 gross margin excluding depreciation (income) expenses (739) 26 n/m and amortization – manufactured 334 186 80 ebit 1,216 232 424 depreciation and amortization 130 112 16 ebitda 1,346 344 291 adjustments 2 (780) ‐ n/m adjusted ebitda 566 344 65 1 includes other phosphate and purchased products and comprises net sales of $232 million (2021 – $140 million) less cost of goods sold of $242 million (2021 – $125 million). 2 see notes 2 and 3 to the interim financial statements. includes impairment reversal of assets of $780 million (2021 – nil). adjusted ebitda increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 mainly due to higher net realized selling prices, which more than offset higher raw material costs. included with expenses in the third quarter of 2022, we recognized a $330 million non-cash impairment of assets reversal, which is deducted from adjusted ebitda. this brings the total impairment reversal to $780 million for the first nine months of 2022 and is due to a more favorable outlook for phosphate margins. sales volumes increased in the third quarter of 2022 due to strong offshore fertilizer sales, offsetting lower industrial sales that were impacted by an unplanned plant outage. sales volumes in the first nine months of 2022 decreased due to a condensed north american spring application season and lower production volumes. net realized selling price increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 aligned with the increase in global benchmark prices. industrial and feed net realized selling prices increased to a greater extent than fertilizer prices in the third quarter of 2022, which reflects the typical lag in industrial and feed price realizations relative to spot fertilizer prices. cost of goods sold per tonne increased in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 primarily due to significantly higher sulfur and ammonia input costs. corporate and others (millions of us dollars, except as otherwise three months ended september 30 nine months ended september 30 noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change selling expenses (2) (9) (78) (6) (24) (75) general and administrative expenses 80 58 38 227 182 25 share-based compensation expense 39 64 (39) 122 125 (2) other expenses 59 30 97 160 141 13 ebit (176) (143) 23 (503) (424) 19 depreciation and amortization 19 12 58 55 34 62 ebitda (157) (131) 20 (448) (390) 15 adjustments 1 63 89 (29) 230 232 (1) adjusted ebitda (94) (42) 124 (218) (158) 38 1 see note 2 to the interim financial statements. general and administrative expenses were higher in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 compared to the same periods in 2021 mainly due to increased depreciation expense, higher donations and higher information technology-related expenses. other expenses were higher in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 compared to the same periods in 2021 mainly due to higher foreign exchange losses related to our us dollar denominated liabilities in our south american operations and higher information technology project-related costs. this was partially offset by the absence of cloud computing related expenses from our change in accounting policy and lower covid-19 related expenses. finance costs, income taxes and other comprehensive (loss) income (millions of us dollars, except as otherwise three months ended september 30 nine months ended september 30 noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change finance costs 136 122 11 375 367 2 income tax expense 487 209 133 2,206 615 259 other comprehensive (loss) income (230) (79) 191 (296) 6 n/m finance costs were higher in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 compared to the same periods in 2021 mainly due to higher interest rates and a higher short-term debt balance, mostly offset by a lower long-term debt balance resulting from the early extinguishment of a portion of our long-term debt in the fourth quarter of 2021. income tax expense was higher as a result of higher earnings in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 compared to the same periods in 2021. other comprehensive (loss) income is primarily driven by changes in the currency translation of our foreign operations and our investment in sinofert holdings ltd. (“sinofert”). in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022, we had fair value losses on our investment in sinofert due to share price decreases, compared to fair value gains due to share price increases in the same periods of 2021. in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022, we had higher losses on foreign currency translation of our retail operations, mainly in australia and canada compared to the same periods in 2021. these currencies depreciated relative to the us dollar as at september 30, 2022 compared to june 30, 2022 and december 31, 2021 levels, which led to losses in the third quarter and the first nine months of 2022. this was partially offset by a net actuarial gain on our defined benefit pension plans in the third quarter of 2022. liquidity and capital resources sources and uses of liquidity we continued to manage our capital in accordance with our capital allocation strategy. we believe that our internally generated cash flow, supplemented by available borrowings under new or existing financing sources, if necessary, will be sufficient to meet our anticipated capital expenditures, planned growth and development activities, and other cash requirements for the foreseeable future. refer to the “capital structure and management” section for details on our existing long-term debt and credit facilities. sources and uses of cash (millions of us dollars, except as otherwise three months ended september 30 nine months ended september 30 noted) 2022 2021 % change 2022 2021 % change cash provided by (used in) operating activities 878 (1,565) n/m 3,374 249 n/m cash used in investing activities (705) (523) 35 (1,679) (1,342) 25 cash (used in) provided by financing activities (29) 757 n/m (1,319) 117 n/m effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (32) (20) 60 (52) (35) 49 increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 112 (1,351) n/m 324 (1,011) n/m cash provided by (used in) operating activities cash provided by operating activities was higher in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 compared to the same periods in 2021 due to higher net earnings driven by higher selling prices from global supply uncertainties, offset by working capital requirements. cash used in investing activities cash used in investing activities in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 was higher compared to the same periods in 2021 mainly due to higher spending to maintain the safety and reliability of our assets and to increase our potash production capabilities. cash (used in) provided by financing activities cash used in financing activities in the third quarter and first nine months of 2022 was higher compared to the same periods in 2021 due to increased share repurchases, partially offset with increased commercial paper and credit facility drawdowns to temporarily finance working capital requirements. financial condition review the following balance sheet categories contain variances that are considered material: as at (millions of us dollars, except as otherwise noted) september 30, 2022 december 31, 2021 $ change % change assets cash and cash equivalents 823 499 324 65 receivables 8,591 5,366 3,225 60 inventories 6,545 6,328 217 3 prepaid expenses and other current assets 737 1,653 (916) (55) property, plant and equipment 21,022 20,016 1,006 5 liabilities and equity short-term debt 4,454 1,560 2,894 186 current portion of long-term debt 1,016 545 471 86 payables and accrued charges 8,760 10,052 (1,292) (13) long-term debt 7,020 7,521 (501) (7) deferred income tax liabilities 3,489 3,165 324 10 asset retirement obligations and accrued environmental costs 1,320 1,566 (246) (16) share capital 14,588 15,457 (869) (6) accumulated other comprehensive loss (498) (146) (352) 241 retained earnings 11,787 8,192 3,595 44 explanations for changes in cash and cash equivalents are in the “sources and uses of cash” section. receivables increased due to higher sales across all of our segments as a result of higher crop nutrient net realized selling prices consistent with higher benchmark pricing, as well as higher retail vendor rebates receivables. inventories increased primarily due to higher cost to produce and/or purchase inventory across all our segments. we held higher than average levels of finished products inventory in our nitrogen and phosphate segments, resulting from timing of sales, turnarounds at our nitrogen facilities at year-end and higher input costs. this was partially offset by a decrease in inventory in our retail segment driven by seasonality. generally, we carry higher inventory levels at year-end and during the early part of the year in preparation for the upcoming planting and application seasons. throughout the year, inventory levels decrease as we sell to our customers. prepaid expenses and other current assets decreased due to the drawdown of prepaid inventory where retail typically prepays for products at year-end and takes possession of inventory throughout the year. property, plant and equipment increased due to impairment reversals in the phosphate segment. short-term debt increased due to additional commercial paper issuances and borrowings under our credit facilities for our seasonal working capital requirements and for share repurchases. payables and accrued charges decreased due to the seasonality of our retail segment. throughout the year, we settle our vendor obligations and customer prepayments decrease as drawdowns occur. as at september 30, 2022, we had higher payables balances compared to the same period in 2021 due to higher input costs from inflation and tight global supply. long-term debt decreased due to a reclassification to the current portion of long-term debt of our $500 million notes maturing may 2023. deferred income tax liabilities increased primarily in the npk businesses in the us and canada, partially offset by us retail recoveries. the reversal of the phosphate impairment also resulted in an increase in the deferred tax liability of $161 million. asset retirement obligations and accrued environment costs decreased due to changes in discount rates, reclassification to the current portion of asset retirement obligations and increased spending on remediation to restore our sites. share capital decreased from shares repurchased under our normal course issuer bids partially offset by exercise of stock options. accumulated other comprehensive loss increased due to a loss on currency translation of our foreign operations. retained earnings increased as net earnings in the first nine months of 2022 exceeded dividends declared and share repurchases. capital structure and management principal debt instruments as part of the normal course of business, we closely monitor our liquidity position. we use a combination of cash generated from operations and short-term and long-term debt to finance our operations. we were in compliance with our debt covenants and did not have any changes to our credit ratings in the nine months ended september 30, 2022. as at september 30, 2022 outstanding and committed (millions of us dollars) rate of interest (%) total facility limit short-term debt long-term debt credit facilities unsecured revolving term credit facility n/a 4,500 ‐ ‐ unsecured revolving term credit facility 4.1 2,000 1,000 ‐ uncommitted revolving demand facility 4.0 1,000 500 ‐ other credit facilities 760 south american 1.5 - 21.7 194 108 australian 3.6 97 ‐ other 3.3 - 4.0 8 3 commercial paper 2.9 - 4.0 2,530 ‐ other short-term debt n/a 125 7 total 4,454 118 the amount available under the commercial paper program is limited to the availability of backup funds under the $4,500 million unsecured revolving term credit facility and excess cash invested in highly liquid securities. during the third quarter of 2022, we extended the maturity date of the $4,500 million unsecured revolving term credit facility from june 4, 2026 to september 14, 2027. there was no change to the total facility limit or the significant agreement terms from those we disclosed in our 2021 annual report. during the third quarter of 2022, we entered into a new $2,000 million revolving term credit facility, with the same principal covenants and events of default as our existing $4,500 million unsecured revolving term credit facility. the $2,000 million non-revolving term credit facilities we entered into in july 2022 to help temporarily manage normal seasonal working capital swings were closed prior to september 30, 2022. our long-term debt consists primarily of notes. see the “capital structure and management” section of our 2021 annual report for information on balances, rates and maturities for our notes. subsequent to the third quarter of 2022, we repaid the $500 million 3.15 percent notes that matured october 1, 2022. outstanding share data as at november 1, 2022 common shares 520,183,851 options to purchase common shares 3,920,176 we repurchased approximately 40 million shares year-to-date as of november 1, 2022, under our share repurchase programs, for a total of approximately $3.5 billion and plan to allocate a total of approximately $4 billion to share repurchases in 2022. while some of the previously expected approximately $5 billion in repurchases may now extend into the first quarter of 2023 due to lower forecasted operating cash flow in 2022, we still intend on completing our existing 10 percent share repurchase program prior to its expiry in february 2023. for more information on our capital structure and management, see note 24 to our 2021 annual financial statements. quarterly results (millions of us dollars, except as otherwise noted) q3 2022 q2 2022 q1 2022 q4 2021 q3 2021 q2 2021 q1 2021 q4 2020 sales 8,188 14,506 7,657 7,267 6,024 9,763 4,658 4,052 net earnings 1,583 3,601 1,385 1,207 726 1,113 133 316 net earnings attributable to equity holders of nutrien 1,577 3,593 1,378 1,201 717 1,108 127 316 net earnings per share attributable to equity holders of nutrien basic 2.95 6.53 2.49 2.11 1.26 1.94 0.22 0.55 diluted 2.94 6.51 2.49 2.11 1.25 1.94 0.22 0.55 seasonality in our business results from increased demand for products during the planting season. crop input sales are generally higher in the spring and fall application seasons. crop input inventories are normally accumulated leading up to each application season. our cash collections generally occur after the application season is complete, while customer prepayments made to us are concentrated in december and january and inventory prepayments paid to our suppliers are typically concentrated in the period from november to january. feed and industrial sales are more evenly distributed throughout the year. our earnings are significantly affected by fertilizer benchmark prices, which have been volatile over the last two years and are affected by demand-supply conditions, grower affordability and weather. in the third and second quarters of 2022, earnings were impacted by $330 million and $450 million non-cash impairment reversals at white springs and aurora, respectively, of property, plant and equipment in the phosphate segment related to higher forecasted global prices and a more favorable outlook for phosphate margins. in the fourth quarter of 2021, earnings were impacted by a $142 million loss resulting from the early extinguishment of long-term debt. in the fourth quarter of 2020, earnings were impacted by a $250 million net gain on disposal of our investment in misr fertilizers production company s.a.e.. critical accounting estimates our significant accounting policies are disclosed in our 2021 annual report. we have discussed the development, selection and application of our key accounting policies, and the critical accounting estimates and assumptions they involve, with the audit committee of the board. our critical accounting estimates are discussed on page 49 of our 2021 annual report. other than the critical accounting estimates discussed below, there were no material changes in the three or nine months ended september 30, 2022 to our critical accounting estimates. impairment of assets long-lived asset impairment and reversals in the three months ended september 30, 2022, we continued to revise our near-term pricing forecasts due to continued global export restrictions from major producers and continued our review of our previously impaired phosphate cash-generating unit (“cgu”), white springs. in 2017 and 2020, we recorded an impairment of assets at our white springs cgu relating to property, plant and equipment of $250 million and $215 million respectively, as a result of lower long-term forecasted global phosphate prices. due to increases in our forecast, the recoverable amount of our white springs cgu is above its carrying amount. as a result, during the three months ended september 30, 2022, we recorded a full impairment reversal, net of depreciation, of $330 million in the statement of earnings relating to property, plant and equipment. refer to note 3 to the interim financial statements. the recoverable amount estimate is most sensitive to the following key assumptions: our internal sales and input price forecasts, which consider projections from independent third-party data sources, discount rate, and expected mine life. we used key assumptions that were based on historical data and estimates of future results from internal sources, external price benchmarks, and mineral reserve technical reports, as well as industry and market trends. goodwill impairment indicators cgus or groups of cgus that have goodwill allocated to them must be assessed for impairment when events or circumstances indicate there could be an impairment, or at least annually. based on our assumptions at the time of our impairment testing, the recoverable amount of each of our cgus or groups of cgus was greater than or approximately equal to their carrying amounts. key assumptions in our testing models may change, and changes that could reasonably be expected to occur may cause impairment. such change in assumptions could be driven by global supply and demand, other market factors, changes in regulations, and other future events outside our control. during the nine months ended september 30, 2022, north american central banks continued to increase their benchmark borrowing rates. benchmark borrowing rates are used as the risk-free rate which is a component of determining our discount rate for impairment testing. as a result of these increases, we revised our discount rates and increased our retail – north america group of cgus discount rate to 8.5 percent (previous impairment analysis – 8.0 percent at june 30, 2022) and this triggered an impairment test to be performed. the retail – north america group of cgus have $6.9 billion in associated goodwill. goodwill is more susceptible to impairment risk if there is an increase in the discount rate, or a deterioration in business operating results or economic conditions and actual results do not meet our forecasts. as at september 30, 2022, the retail – north america group of cgus carrying amount was equal to its recoverable amount. a 25 basis point increase in the discount rate will result in an impairment of the carrying amount of goodwill of approximately $500 million. a decrease in forecasted ebitda and cash flows or a reduction in the terminal growth rate will also result in impairment in the future. refer to note 3 to the interim financial statements. risk factors russia and ukraine conflict the current conflict between ukraine and russia and the international response has, and may continue to have, potential wide-ranging consequences for global market volatility and economic conditions, including energy and commodity prices. certain countries including canada, the united states, australia and certain european countries have imposed strict financial and trade sanctions against russia, with russia and belarus imposing retaliatory sanctions of their own, which have had, and may continue to have, far-reaching effects on the global economy, energy and commodity prices, food security and crop nutrient supply and prices. the short-, medium- and long-term implications of the conflict in ukraine are difficult to predict with any degree of certainty at this time. while nutrien does not have operations in ukraine or russia, there remains uncertainty relating to the potential impact of the conflict and its effect on global food security, growers and the market outlook for crop nutrient market supply and demand fundamentals and nutrient prices, and it could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. depending on the extent, duration, and severity of the conflict, it may have the effect of heightening many of the other risks nutrien is subject to and which are described in our 2021 annual report and 2021 annual information form, including, without limitation, risks relating to market fundamentals and conditions (such as sanctions and trade flows and the impact thereof on crop nutrient supply and demand); cybersecurity threats; energy and commodity prices; inflationary pressures, interest rates and costs of capital; and supply chains and cost-effective and timely transportation. controls and procedures management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the securities exchange act of 1934, as amended, and national instrument 52-109 certification of disclosure in issuers’ annual and interim filings. internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with ifrs. any system of internal control over financial reporting, no matter how well designed, has inherent limitations. therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the three months ended september 30, 2022 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. forward-looking statements certain statements and other information included in this document, including within the "market outlook and guidance" section, constitute “forward-looking information” or “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) under applicable securities laws (such statements are often accompanied by words such as “anticipate”, “forecast”, “expect”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “estimate”, “intend” or other similar words). all statements in this document, other than those relating to historical information or current conditions, are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: nutrien's business strategies, plans, prospects and opportunities; nutrien's 2022 full-year guidance, including expectations regarding our adjusted net earnings per share and adjusted ebitda (consolidated and by segment); expectations regarding our growth and capital allocation intentions and strategies; our advancement of strategic growth initiatives; capital spending expectations for 2022; our intention to complete our existing share repurchase program in 2022 and 2023, including the funds allocated thereto; expectations regarding performance of our operating segments in 2022 and 2023 including projected potash sales volumes; our operating segment market outlooks and market conditions and fundamentals for 2022 as well as our expectations for market conditions and fundamentals in 2023 and beyond, and the anticipated supply and demand for our products and services, expected market and industry conditions with respect to crop nutrient application rates, planted acres, grower crop investment, crop mix, production expenses, shipments, consumption, prices and the impact of seasonality, import and export volumes and economic sanctions; nutrien's ability to develop innovative and sustainable solutions; the negotiation of sales contracts; acquisitions and divestitures and the anticipated benefits thereof; and the potential impairment of goodwill associated with our retail – north america group of cgus. these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. as such, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. all of the forward-looking statements are qualified by the assumptions that are stated or inherent in such forward-looking statements, including the assumptions referred to below and elsewhere in this document. although we believe that these assumptions are reasonable, having regard to our experience and our perception of historical trends, this list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the forward-looking statements and the reader should not place undue reliance on these assumptions and such forward-looking statements. current conditions, economic and otherwise, render assumptions, although reasonable when made, subject to greater uncertainty. the additional key assumptions that have been made include, among other things, assumptions with respect to our ability to successfully complete, integrate and realize the anticipated benefits of our already completed and future acquisitions and divestitures, and that we will be able to implement our standards, controls, procedures and policies in respect of any acquired businesses and to realize the expected synergies; that future business, regulatory and industry conditions will be within the parameters expected by us, including with respect to prices, expenses, margins, demand, supply, product availability, shipments, consumption, supplier agreements, availability and cost of labor and interest, exchange and effective tax rates; assumptions with respect to global economic conditions and the accuracy of our market outlook expectations for 2022 and in the future; assumptions with respect to our intention to complete share repurchases under our share repurchase program, including the funding thereof, existing and future market conditions, including with respect to the price of our common shares, and compliance with respect to applicable limitations under securities laws and regulations and stock exchange policies; our expectations regarding the impacts, direct and indirect, of the covid-19 pandemic on our business, customers, business partners, employees, supply chain, other stakeholders and the overall global economy; our expectations regarding the impacts, direct and indirect, of the conflict between ukraine and russia on, among other things, global supply and demand, energy and commodity prices, global interest rates, supply chains and the global macroeconomic environment, including inflation; the adequacy of our cash generated from operations and our ability to access our credit facilities or capital markets for additional sources of financing; our expectations regarding the impact of certain factors on the carrying amount of goodwill associated with our retail – north america group of cgus; our ability to identify suitable candidates for acquisitions and divestitures and negotiate acceptable terms; our ability to maintain investment grade ratings and achieve our performance targets; our ability to successfully negotiate sales contracts; and our ability to successfully implement new initiatives and programs. events or circumstances that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: general global economic, market and business conditions; failure to complete announced and future acquisitions or divestitures at all or on the expected terms and within the expected timeline; seasonality; climate change and weather conditions, including impacts from regional flooding and/or drought conditions; crop planted acreage, yield and prices; the supply and demand and price levels for our products; governmental and regulatory requirements and actions by governmental authorities, including changes in government policy (including tariffs, trade restrictions and climate change initiatives), government ownership requirements, changes in environmental, tax and other laws or regulations and the interpretation thereof; political risks, including civil unrest, actions by armed groups or conflict and malicious acts including terrorism; the occurrence of a major environmental or safety incident; innovation and cybersecurity risks related to our systems, including our costs of addressing or mitigating such risks; counterparty and sovereign risk; delays in completion of turnarounds at our major facilities; interruptions of or constraints in availability of key inputs, including natural gas and sulfur; any significant impairment of the carrying amount of certain assets; risks related to reputational loss; certain complications that may arise in our mining processes; the ability to attract, engage and retain skilled employees and strikes or other forms of work stoppages; the covid-19 pandemic, including variants of the covid-19 virus and the efficiency and distribution of vaccines, and its resulting effects on economic conditions, restrictions imposed by public health authorities or governments, including government-imposed vaccine mandates, fiscal and monetary responses by governments and financial institutions and disruptions to global supply chains; the conflict between ukraine and russia and its potential impact on, among other things, global market conditions and supply and demand, energy and commodity prices; interest rates, supply chains and the global economy generally; our ability to execute on our strategies related to environmental, social and governance matters, and achieve related expectations; the risk that rising interest rates and/or deteriorated business operating results may result in the impairment of goodwill attributed to certain of our cash generating units; and other risk factors detailed from time to time in nutrien reports filed with the canadian securities regulators and the sec in the united states. the purpose of our adjusted net earnings per share, adjusted ebitda (consolidated and by segment) and sustaining capital expenditures guidance ranges are to assist readers in understanding our expected and targeted financial results, and this information may not be appropriate for other purposes. the forward-looking statements in this document are made as of the date hereof and nutrien disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this document as a result of new information or future events, except as may be required under applicable canadian securities legislation or applicable us federal securities laws. terms and definitions for the definitions of certain financial and non-financial terms used in this document, as well as a list of abbreviated company names and sources, see the “terms & definitions” section of our 2021 annual report. all references to per share amounts pertain to diluted net earnings (loss) per share, “n/m” indicates information that is not meaningful, and all financial amounts are stated in millions of us dollars, unless otherwise noted. about nutrien nutrien is the world's largest provider of crop inputs and services, playing a critical role in helping growers increase food production in a sustainable manner. we produce and distribute approximately 27 million tonnes of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products world-wide. with this capability and our leading agriculture retail network, we are well positioned to supply the needs of our customers. we operate with a long-term view and are committed to working with our stakeholders as we address our economic, environmental and social priorities. the scale and diversity of our integrated portfolio provides a stable earnings base, multiple avenues for growth and the opportunity to return capital to shareholders. selected financial data for download can be found in our data tool at www.nutrien.com/investors/interactive-datatool such data is not incorporated by reference herein. nutrien will host a conference call on thursday, november 3, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. telephone conference dial-in numbers: from canada and the us 1-888-886-7786 international 1-416-764-8683 no access code required. please dial in 15 minutes prior to ensure you are placed on the call in a timely manner. live audio webcast: visit https://www.nutrien.com/investors/events/2022-q3-earnings-conference-call appendix a - selected additional financial data selected retail measures three months ended september 30 nine months ended september 30 2022 2021 2022 2021 proprietary products margin as a percentage of product line margin (%) crop nutrients 35 26 22 24 crop protection products 41 41 41 41 seed 62 48 45 45 all products 30 27 27 27 crop nutrients sales volumes (tonnes – thousands) north america 1,066 1,112 6,286 7,729 international 782 898 2,732 2,833 total 1,848 2,010 9,018 10,562 crop nutrients selling price per tonne north america 836 602 908 510 international 913 585 744 464 total 869 595 858 498 crop nutrients gross margin per tonne north america 155 147 191 127 international 64 95 80 67 total 117 124 157 111 financial performance measures 2022 2021 retail adjusted ebitda margin (%) 1, 2 11 11 retail adjusted ebitda per us selling location (thousands of us dollars) 1, 2, 3 1,913 1,362 retail adjusted average working capital to sales (%) 1, 4 16 12 retail adjusted average working capital to sales excluding nutrien financial (%) 1, 4 1 (1) nutrien financial adjusted net interest margin (%) 1, 4 6.7 6.4 retail cash operating coverage ratio (%) 1, 4 55 59 1 rolling four quarters ended september 30, 2022 and 2021. 2 these are supplementary financial measures. see the “other financial measures" section. 3 excluding acquisitions. 4 these are non-ifrs financial measures. see the "non-ifrs financial measures" section. nutrien financial as at september 30, 2022 as at dec 31, 2021 (millions of us dollars) current 90 days past due gross receivables allowance 1 net receivables net receivables north america 3,009 49 138 77 3,273 (34) 3,239 1,488 international 572 8 56 25 661 (2) 659 662 nutrien financial receivables 3,581 57 194 102 3,934 (36) 3,898 2,150 1 bad debt expense on the above receivables for the nine months ended september 30, 2022 was $10 million (2021 – $9 million) in the retail segment. selected nitrogen measures three months ended september 30 nine months ended september 30 2022 2021 2022 2021 sales volumes (tonnes – thousands) fertilizer 1,417 1,320 3,963 4,450 industrial and feed 1,209 1,201 3,523 3,440 net sales (millions of us dollars) fertilizer 764 533 2,658 1,503 industrial and feed 743 440 2,191 1,025 net selling price per tonne fertilizer 539 404 671 338 industrial and feed 614 366 622 298 production measures three months ended september 30 nine months ended september 30 2022 2021 2022 2021 potash production (product tonnes – thousands) 2,742 3,199 10,066 10,149 potash shutdown weeks 1 10 10 15 14 ammonia production – total 2 1,483 1,414 4,359 4,355 ammonia production – adjusted 2, 3 1,009 856 3,015 2,863 ammonia operating rate (%) 3 91 77 92 87 p2o5 production (p2o5 tonnes – thousands) 335 384 1,063 1,109 p2o5 operating rate (%) 78 90 84 87 1 represents weeks of full production shutdown, including inventory adjustments and unplanned events, excluding the impact of any periods of reduced operating rates, planned routine annual maintenance shutdowns and announced workforce reductions. 2 all figures are provided on a gross production basis in thousands of product tonnes. 3 excludes trinidad and joffre. appendix b - non-ifrs financial measures we use both ifrs measures and certain non-ifrs financial measures to assess performance. non-ifrs financial measures are financial measures disclosed by a company that (a) depict historical or expected future financial performance, financial position or cash flow of a company, (b) with respect to their composition, exclude amounts that are included in, or include amounts that are excluded from, the composition of the most directly comparable financial measure disclosed in the primary financial statements of the company, (c) are not disclosed in the financial statements of the company and (d) are not a ratio, fraction, percentage or similar representation. non-ifrs ratios are financial measures disclosed by a company that are in the form of a ratio, fraction, percentage or similar representation that has a non-ifrs financial measure as one or more of its components, and that are not disclosed in the financial statements of the company. these non-ifrs financial measures and non-ifrs ratios are not standardized financial measures under ifrs and, therefore, are unlikely to be comparable to similar financial measures presented by other companies. management believes these non-ifrs financial measures and non-ifrs ratios provide transparent and useful supplemental information to help investors evaluate our financial performance, financial condition and liquidity using the same measures as management. these non-ifrs financial measures and non-ifrs ratios should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with ifrs. the following
