By Maria Armental

Fertilizer giant Nutrien Ltd. swung to a third-quarter loss amid the coronavirus pandemic. Here's what you need to know:

LOSS: The company reported a loss of $587 million, or $1.03 a share, driven by a non-cash impairment of $823 million primarily related to phosphate operations. On an adjusted basis, the profit was 23 cents a share. A year earlier, it reported a profit of $141 million, or 24 cents a share.

REVENUE: Sales rose to $4.21 billion from $4.17 billion a year earlier.

PHOSPHATE: The company said global phosphate prices have trended higher due to strong demand in India and Brazil, and trade flow changes related to countervailing duty investigations in the U.S. Company officials said they believe "the phosphate market is fundamentally oversupplied which could limit a long-term price recovery."

OUTLOOK: Nutrien now expects $1.60 to $1.85 a share in adjusted profit, compared with its earlier view of $1.50 to $1.90 a share.

PANDEMIC: Chief Executive Chuck Magro pointed to strong fertilizer sales volumes and orders' growth through its digital agriculture platform, surpassing $1 billion of sales. "Market conditions are improving around the world with higher crop and fertilizer prices, lower expected inventories and strong demand for crop inputs as we finish the year and enter 2021," Mr. Magro said in a statement.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-02-20 1808ET