May 1 (Reuters) - Fertilizer maker CF Industries reported lower first-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by eased prices and a hit to ammonia production due to outages.

Fertilizer prices have retreated, tracking lower energy prices on supply concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Average selling prices for the first quarter were lower as weak global energy costs reduced the market-clearing price required to meet global demand," the company said in a statement

Its net sales declined 27%, to $1.47 billion, compared with $2.01 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The company's ammonia production volumes fell about 13% due to the impact of a significant planned turnaround event in the quarter, severe weather in January that caused or contributed to ammonia plant outages and other unplanned maintenance.

The Northbrook, Illinois-based company reported earnings of $194 million, or $1.03 per share, for the three months ended March 31, compared with $560 million, or $2.85 per share, last year. (Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)