Tel Aviv-Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) reported record results for the year ending Dec. 31, 2008, with net income of $2 billion on sales of $6.9 billion, compared to 2007’s $553.4 million and $4.1 billion, respectively. Bowing to the global financial crisis, fourth-quarter results were not as stellar, with net income of $175.8 million on sales of $1.12 billion, versus the year-ago $173.4 million and $1.2 billion. Fourth-quarter adjusted income was $279.1 million, excluding one-time charges that included an adjustment in sulfur inventories from $800 per ton to below $100 per ton. ICL Fertilizers reported 2008 operating income of $2.02 billion on sales of $4.25 billion, versus 2007’s $527.4 million and $2.15 billion, respectively. Fourth-quarter fertilizer income and sales were down to $120.4 million and $508.8 million, respectively, from the year-ago $183.6 million and $676.2 million. ICL said 2008 results reflected steep price increases and strong demand for potash, fertilizers, and additional products. Fourth-quarter results were impacted by the global economic conditions, but prices still remained above year-ago levels. ICL stressed that medium- and long-term fundamentals remain good, and said that any near-term reduction in fertilizer purchases will lead to further depletion of world grain inventories, which is expected to lead to price increases for grains, and later for fertilizer. To weather the current economic storm, ICL said it would institute cost saving and efficiency programs, including the optimization of manufacturing plans, the adjustment of inventory levels, the prioritization of investment programs, and the institution of salary cuts. ICL stressed that its virtually unlimited storage capacity enables it to stockpile potash and continue with normal production levels.
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K+S buys Morton Salt
Kassel, Germany-Fertilizer and salt company K+S Aktiengesellschaft said April 2 that it has agreed to buy Morton International Inc. from Rohm and Haas Co., a unit of The Dow Chemical Co., for US$1.675 billion. The deal is expected to close at mid-year, assuming regulatory approvals. K+S said the acquisition will make it the North American – and global – leader in salt. In 2008, Morton Salt had revenues of US$1.2 billion and EBITDA of $270 million. Dow was required to shed Morton after its recent acquisition of Rohm and Haas. Last month K+S was rumored to be readying a bid for U.S.-based Compass Minerals (GM March 9, p. 11), which is in the salt and specialty fertilizer business. K+S never confirmed those rumors, and analysts speculated that Compass shares ran up in price, which could have made that acquisition less attractive.
AIG shows up in Phosphate Holdings’ filings
Washington-American International Group Inc. (AIG), New York, has been issued some 1,318,991 shares by Phosphate Holdings Inc., Madison, Miss., according to a Feb. 17 Schedule 13G filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission. According to the filing, this represents 17.23 percent of the kind of shares issued. The short form used indicates that AIG does not intend to seek control of Phosphate Holdings. Neither AIG nor Phosphate Holdings responded to inquiries.
BHP potash speculation continues
Melbourne-Why spend billions of dollars and years to enter the potash industry with a new greenfield plant when you can buy a large, existing player when the stock market is down? That appears to be the gist of recent speculation about Australian giant BHP Billiton, which has long wanted to enter the potash business in a big way. Add to that the fact that BHP is flush with cash after having raised an estimated $6 billion from the sale of bonds. Analysts and news media took the bait and have speculated once again (GM Dec. 10, 2007, p. 10) that BHP might be interested in PotashCorp or The Mosaic Co. Earlier this year, BHP asked the Province of Saskatchewan for permission to construct the world’s largest potash mine (GM March 16, p. 12). The mine would be located west of Saskatoon. Potash production could start as early as 2015 and achieve full production of 8 million mt/y by 2026. Government approval is reportedly not expected until the spring of 2011. BHP has been eyeing such a project for some time and last year bought all of the shares of Anglo Potash Ltd., which had been developing a potash project (GM July 14, 2008).
Propane fire causes fertilizer plant concerns
Ballinger, Tex.-A fire at the propane station outside the plant in the afternoon of March 31 caused concerns for the operating areas at Buddy’s Plant Plus here where Scotts Miracle-Gro and other brands are produced. Fortunately, Buddy’s President Edward Studer told Green Markets, alert action by the local fire department kept flames from spreading and limited losses to the main tank, eight propane bottles, a forklift, and a small storage shed in the propane area, amounting to about $20,000. “If the big tank had ruptured we would have had a major incident,” Studer reported. “We did evacuate our plant and call off the night shift as a safety measure.” The local press reported that about 100 people were evacuated from about 50 nearby homes, and a high school baseball game also was postponed. Studer said fire crews kept the large tank cooled down and that took care of the situation, adding that had it been otherwise the damage could have been extensive. The fire erupted while the propane bottles were being filled from the 5,000-gallon tank, which contained about 3,000 gallons of propane at the time. For some unknown reason, one of the smaller tanks ignited and the fire spread to the other tanks. “Our production facilities were not affected at all and everything was back to normal Wednesday afternoon,” Studer said. “We’re very pleased with the outcome.”
EPA delaying SPCC regs
Washington-The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is delaying the effective compliance date of the final rule amending the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) regulations issued in the Federal Register on Dec. 5, 2008, according to the Agricultural Retailers Association. The SPCC amendments will now become effective on Jan. 14, 2010, which ARA said is a nine-month delay from the original compliance date proposed. ARA said it has worked closely with EPA officials over the last five years to ease SPCC requirements for agricultural businesses in the development of plans for preventing spills of petroleum and other types of oil. ARA said the rules potentially cover facilities such as farms, petroleum refiners, chemical facilities, formulators, plants that store animal and plant fats or vegetable oils, and agricultural retailers. ARA said the new SPCC regulations include exemptions for sprayer application equipment and mobile refueling units, allow integrity inspections by the facility operator without requiring the use of a professional engineer, and allow self-certification for qualifying facilities under 10,000 gallons. With the modifications proposed on Dec. 5, EPA expects to encourage greater compliance with the SPCC regulations, ARA said. The amendments did not change any regulatory requirement for owners or operators of facilities in operation before Aug. 16, 2002, to develop, implement, and maintain an SPCC plan in accordance with the SPCC regulations then in effect, ARA noted. Such facilities are still required to maintain their existing SPCC plans until the applicable dates for revising and implementing new plans go into effect under the latest EPA amendments.
Terra reports distribution agreement for TerraCair
Sioux City-Terra Industries Inc. said April 1 that Terra Environmental Technologies Inc. (TET), a wholly-owned Terra subsidiary, has signed a multi-year agreement with Excelda Manufacturing Co. (Excelda). Under the terms, Excelda will package and distribute TerraCair Ultrapure® Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) in package sizes of 50 gallons or less, and specialize in one- to 2.5-gallon containers. TerraCair Ultrapure® DEF is a nitrogen-based urea solution that helps clean the air by reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from the exhaust stream of diesel engines. Its use is driven by legislation set to take effect in 2010 that will require new on-road vehicles with diesel engines to meet more stringent emissions requirements. This agreement will allow Excelda to make TerraCair Ultrapure® DEF available to new end-use markets, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), automotive fluid distributors, truck stops, and a variety of retail outlets. This agreement complements one that TET signed with Brenntag North America (Brenntag) in December 2008. Together, the Excelda and Brenntag agreements provide avenues for TET to distribute TerraCair Ultrapure® DEF in package sizes ranging from one-gallon containers to bulk truckloads. Excelda will package TerraCair Ultrapure® DEF at its primary facility in Fowlerville, Mich.
Stolen truck carrying AN recovered in Florida
Dania Beach, Fla.-A pickup truck stolen on March 18 from a motel in Dania Beach, Fla., was found abandoned in the town of Hialeah in Miami-Dade County, and the truck’s cargo of 600 pounds of ammonium nitrate in 50-pound bags was intact, according to Broward County Sheriff’s Office officials. The truck, a Ford F-350 with a flatbed owned by a Jacksonville landscaping company, had been stolen from the parking lot of the Red Carpet Inn in Dania Beach (GM March 23, p. 10). As of late last week, no arrests were made in the case and no additional information was available from authorities.
Agrium part of $140 M CO2 project
Ottawa-As a major supplier of carbon dioxide from its Redwater, Alberta, nitrogen operations, Agrium Inc. will be one of the participants in a $140 million Canadian government project aimed at capturing and storing CO2 produced by power plants and the fertilizer and petroleum industries, according to the company. An earlier announcement stated that Ottawa will pump the funding into eight demonstration projects, which include a CO2 pipeline project being designed by Enhance Energy to run from the Agrium fertilizer plant and upgrader alley to central Alberta for enhanced oil recovery. “Essentially, this is Enhance Energy’s project, and we are one of the main suppliers of CO2 as we have a large facility in the area and have a relatively pure stream of CO2 from our operations,” Agrium spokesman Brian Gilbertson told Green Markets.
Rentech seeks to sell $100 M in securities
Los Angeles-Rentech Inc., which owns a nitrogen plant in East Dubuque, Ill., said on March 30 that it filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 to replace its existing shelf registration, which expires on March 31, 2009. The new registration statement has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission; if declared effective by the SEC, it would allow the company to sell, from time to time, up to $100 million of various types of securities in one or more offerings. Rentech is not required to offer or sell all or any portion of the securities in the future under the shelf registration statement, and will do so only if market conditions warrant and if Rentech’s needs for capital require such sales of securities. The terms of any offering under the shelf registration statement would be established at the time of any such offering. Rentech said the filing is intended to give it flexibility to take advantage of financing opportunities when market conditions are favorable to the company. The use of potential future proceeds from the sale of securities under the shelf registration statement could enable Rentech to accelerate the development of the company’s planned renewable and fossil synthetic fuels facilities. Rentech has no current agreements, plans, or discussions to offer any of the shares covered under the Form S-3 for sale. The shelf registration statement that has been filed is not yet effective.