Awards in the RCF urea tender exceed 1.2 million tons. West coast prices were set at $248.38/mt CFR, and East Coast at $251.37/mt CFR. For details of awards, see the Nov. 22 issue of Green Markets.
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Salt Lake Potash Inks Offtakes for 170,000 mt/y of SOP
Junior sulfate of potash (SOP) producer Salt Lake Potash Ltd., Perth, Western Australia, reports it has signed three binding term sheets for the sale and distribution of 170,000 mt/y of sulfate of potash (SOP) from its Lake Way project in the Northern Goldfields Region of Western Australia.
The term sheets have been inked with Unifert for 60,000 mt/y for the Middle East and Africa; Indagro for 50,000 mt/y in North America and Europe; and Fertisur for 60,000 mt/y in South America.
Some 70 percent of total planned production from Lake Way is now committed for a five-year term from the [targeted] start of shipping in 2021 with take-or-pay arrangement on product resale, Salt Lake Potash said.
Dry Fertilizer Barge Rates
| 11/15/2019 | Last Week | |
| Memphis | 10.00-11.00 | 10.00-14.00 |
| St. Louis | 10.00-11.00 | 10.00-16.00 |
| Peoria | 14.00-15.00 | 14.00-20.00 |
| Cincinnati | 14.00-15.00 | 14.00-22.00 |
| St. Paul | 18.00-19.00 | 18.00-24.00 |
| Catoosa/Inola | 19.00-20.00 | 19.00-23.00 |
K+S 3Q EBITDA & Revenues Up; Further K Production Cut
K+S Group, Kassel, reported a 125 percent increase in third-quarter EBITDA to €81 million, up from the year-ago €36 million. Revenues were up 8 percent to €905 million from €840 million. The company cited higher prices and increased sales volumes in the Agriculture customer segment as driving the positive results development.
Due to the persistently weak market environment, K+S said it will carry out additional maintenance measures at its German sites in the fourth quarter, which will reduce potash production by an additional 200,000 mt in the current year. This is on top of the potassium chloride production cut of 300,000 mt by the end of this year, announced by the company in September.
K+S now expects its full-year EBITDA to come in at about €650 million, down from its previous guidance in August of between €730 million and €830 million, less the €80 million hit from the earlier production cut announcement in September. The effect of the latest output curtailment is expected to be another €50 million. The 2018 EBITDA was €606 million.
Arab Potash Co. Settles Indian K Contract
Arab Potash Co. (APC) reports it has agreed with Indian Potash Limited (IPL) on the details of a new potash supply contract to India covering the period from October 2019 to March 2020. It said the terms and conditions are in line with contracts [already] in place in the Indian market. APC did not disclose the delivery volumes agreed under the new contract.
Scotts Executing on “All Cylinders”
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., Marysville, Ohio, reported a surge in income and sales growth during both the fourth-quarter and fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2019. FY 2019 net income was $460.2 million ($8.18 per diluted share) on sales of $3.16 billion, up from the year-ago $63.7 million ($1.12 per share) and $2.66 billion, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA was up 16 percent, to $558.2 million from $482 million.
“Fiscal 2019 showed the strength of our business when we execute on all cylinders,” said Scotts Chairman and CEO Jim Hagedorn. “New products accounted for 15 percent of our sales in our U.S. Consumer business, we saw growth in every major retail channel, and we drove increased consumer participation in nearly every category in our industry. In Hawthorne, we further established our clear leadership with indoor growers, improving our market share and growing our full-year sales 24 percent on an apples-to-apples basis.”
FY 2019 U.S. Consumer profit was up 6 percent, to $527.8 million on sales of $2.28 billion from the year-ago $496.6 million and $2.11 billion, respectively. Hawthorne profit was up 977 percent, to $53.5 million on sales of $671.2 million from the prior year loss of $6.1 million on sales of $344.9 million.
Scotts posted a fourth-quarter seasonal net loss of $58.1 million ($1.04 per share) on sales of $497.7 million, versus the year-ago loss of $146.9 million ($2.65 per share) and $433.9 million, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $15.3 million, compared to a year-ago positive $400,000.
While U.S. Consumer posted a fourth-quarter loss of $20.7 million on sales of $261.6 million, down from the year-ago positive $5.3 million and $252.6 million, respectively, Hawthorne reported profit of $21.9 million on sales of $210 million, up from $500,000 and $152.2 million, respectively.
“The momentum in Hawthorne has been building all year and we saw our highest levels of organic growth in the fourth quarter, giving us a high degree of confidence as we look ahead into fiscal 2020,” added Hagedorn. “During the quarter, we reported strong growth – often above 50 percent – in established West Coast markets, especially California, as well as emerging markets like Michigan, Florida, and Massachusetts. We also saw consistent growth in lighting, nutrients, and other major product categories.”
Scotts expects fiscal 2020 sales growth of 4-6 percent, with Hawthorne sales up 12-15 percent and U.S. Consumer 1-3 percent.
“While the expected growth rates in the U.S. Consumer business and Hawthorne are slightly lower in 2020, the basic fundamentals remain the same,” said Scotts Executive Vice President and CFO Randy Coleman. “We anticipate total company growth largely from volume, as well as modest price increases that are necessary to offset expected pressure from certain commodities and tariffs.”
Dry Fertilizer Barge Rates
| 11/8/2019 | Last Week | |
| Memphis | 10.00-14.00 | 10.00-14.00 |
| St. Louis | 10.00-16.00 | 10.00-16.00 |
| Peoria | 14.00-20.00 | 14.00-20.00 |
| Cincinnati | 14.00-22.00 | 14.00-22.00 |
| St. Paul | 18.00-24.00 | 18.00-24.00 |
| Catoosa/Inola | 19.00-23.00 | 19.00-23.00 |
ICL 3Q Impacted by K Contract Delays
Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL), Tel Aviv, today reported a small uptick in third-quarter 2019 net income attributable to shareholders, to $130 million on sales of $1.33 billion, versus the year-ago $129 million and $1.37 billion, respectively. Diluted earnings per share came in flat on a the same prior-year period at $0.10. Adjusted net income was off by 3 percent from a year-ago, at $130 million ($0.10 per diluted share), down from $134 million ($0.10 per diluted share).
However, the adjusted EPS at $0.10 beat the average analyst estimate of $0.09 based on Bloomberg data (range $0.09 to $0.10).
Sales were 3 percent lower on a year-ago, which the company attributed mainly to delays in the signing of the potash supply contracts in China and India, as well as negative foreign currency impacts. Third quarter potash sales volumes (including internal sales) fell 10 percent to 1.08 million mt, down from the year-ago 1.2 million mt.
India’s RCF Calls Urea Tender
Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers (RCF) called a urea tender to close Nov. 14 with shipment by Dec. 30. The call came as the global urea market is crashing. Traders said RCF might have done better to wait until the last of the material from the previous MMTC tender was shipped Nov. 12. The company was recently allowed to import urea as the Indian government is looking to shuffle around what companies are allowed to import agricultural urea.
Compass, The Andersons Release 3Q Results
Compass Minerals, Overland Park, Kan., reported a third-quarter decline
in net earnings to $10.6 million ($0.31 per diluted share) on sales of $341.3
million, down from the year-ago $12.8 million ($0.37 per share) $322.5 million,
respectively. However, Plant Nutrition North America operating income was up at
$4.7 million on sales of $44.4 million from the year-ago $2.3 million and $41.7
million, respectively. While volumes were up, prices were down.
The Andersons Inc., Maumee, Ohio, reported a third-quarter loss attributable to
the company of $4.2 million ($0.13 per diluted share) on sales of $1.98 billion
compared to the year-ago loss of $2.1 million ($0.07 per share) and $685.6
million, respectively. The company’s Plant Nutrient Group reported a
third-quarter adjusted pretax loss of $7.4 million on sales of $109.4 million versus
the year-ago loss of $8 million and $104.2 million, respectively.