Strong competition in the global fertilizer market and a drop in potash and bromine prices led to a sharp drop in fourth-quarter net profits at Israel Chemicals Ltd.
In an early release of its fourth quarter and annual results on Feb. 12, ICL reported a 43 percent decline in fourth-quarter net profits, to $119 million from $208 million in last year’s corresponding quarter. Fourth-quarter revenues actually rose by 9 percent, to $1.42 billion from $1.3 billion in 2012, due primarily to increased shipments to India and China and revenue from recent acquisitions.
Full year net profits fell to $819 million from $1.3 billion, and revenues were down to $6.27 billion from $6.47 billion in 2012.
ICL Fertilizers revenues in the fourth quarter totaled $794 million versus $710 million in the corresponding quarter in 2012. Operating income for the fourth quarter totaled $87 million versus $139 million in 2012. This was the result of increased volumes at lower prices. ICL Fertilizers sold 5.04 million mt of potash compared to 4.63 million mt in 2012. The company cited a recovery in demand into 2014.
For the full year, ICL Fertilizers sales totaled $3.66 billion versus $3.81 billion in 2012. Operating income for the year was $821 million, down from $1.16 billion. ICL Fertilizers produced 5.16 million mt of potash during 2013, an increase of 4.4 percent over the previous year’s 4.94 million mt, due to increased production at its British and Spanish mines.