Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) reported a record fourth quarter and sharply higher annual revenue for 2011, driven primarily by its ICL Fertilizers division. The company said net profits for the quarter rose by 50 percent, to $370 million versus $245 million in the same quarter in 2010. Revenues were up by 20 percent, to a record $1.71 billion versus $1.42 billion in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
For the full year, ICL reported a 48 percent rise in net profits, to $1.511 billion versus $1.024 billion in 2010. Revenues were up by 24 percent, to $7.067 billion versus 2010’s $5.692 billion.
ICL Fertilizers, the company’s largest division, accounted for 55 percent of total ICL revenue in 2011, up from 51.7 percent in 2010. The division reported a 31 percent increase in revenues, to $4.1 billion versus $3.1 billion in 2010. The operating profit was up by 45 percent, to $1.403 billion versus $965 million in 2010. Potash revenues totaled $2.506 billion versus $2.140 billion in 2010. Fertilizers and phosphate rock sales totaled $1.705 billion, versus $1.056 billion in 2010. Increased profits and revenues were largely the result of higher prices. Potash revenues for the year totaled $2.506 billion, versus $2.140 billion in 2010. Potash revenues in the fourth quarter were $1.182 billion versus $858 million.
Phosphate and fertilizer revenues for the year were $1.706 billion versus $1.056 billion in the previous year. However, the company noted a decline in revenues in the fourth quarter, to $108.6 million versus $221.3 million in the corresponding quarter in 2010. ICL attributed this to a decline in global demand for fertilizers. ICL Fertilizers operating profit in the fourth quarter totaled $364.6 million, versus $244.4 million in the corresponding quarter in 2010. For the year, the division’s operating profit totaled $1.403 billion versus $965 million in the previous year.
Potash sales accounted for 59 percent of revenue in 2011 versus 67 percent the year before, due largely to a strike at Dead Sea Works during the first quarter of 2011. Forty-one percent of revenues were from phosphate rock and fertilizer sales. However, potash continued to contribute most of the operating revenue at ICL Fertilizers, accounting for 84 percent in 2011, compared to 89 percent in 2010. The percentage of operating revenue from potash in the fourth quarter rose to 92 percent.
Production of potash was little changed at 4.261 million mt in 2011 versus 4.251 million mt the previous year. Total sales in 2011 amounted to 5.172 million mt, versus 5.558 million mt the previous year. Phosphate rock production amounted to 3.105 million mt in 2011 versus 3.135 million mt in 2010. Phosphate rock sales were 720 thousand mt to external customers versus 636 thousand mt in 2010.
Fertilizer production totaled 1.570 million mt in 2011, versus 1.688 million mt in the previous year. Fertilizer sales were 1.638 million mt versus 1.735 million mt in 2010. ICL Fertilizers saw little change in the geographic breakdown of sales, with China, India, Brazil, France, and Germany being the largest markets. Asia accounted for 38 percent of the division’s revenues, on par with the previous year.
The only changes were increased shipments to North America, which represented 8 percent of revenues in 2011, compared to only 3 percent in 2010. South America – primarily Brazil – accounted for 14 percent of revenues, down from 18 percent the previous year.
In related news, the company said it was expanding production at Sdom by 500,000 mt, with expected completion in 2014. This would bring its total capacity to 6.5 million mt. ICL also said that geological studies by its CPL subsidiary indicate more than 1 billion mt of polyhalite ore beneath the potash layer in the company’s mine in England. At the end of 2011 ICL Fertilizers started to conduct trial sal