Tel Aviv-Israel Chemical Ltd. reported that its ICL Fertilizer unit reported increased operating income for the third quarter ending Sept. 30, 2010, to $720.7 million on sales of $2.34 billion, up from the year-ago operating income of $503.8 million on sales of $1.51 billion. The company reported a sharp rise in sales of potash and phosphate fertilizers and higher selling prices for phosphate fertilizers, offset somewhat by lower prices for potash and phosphate rock. During the first nine months, the unit sold 4.1 million mt of potash, including internal sales more than double the quantity sold during the year-ago period. It sold 1.4 million mt of phosphate fertilizers, a 74 percent increase compared to year-ago levels. ICL noted huge increases in potash imports by China during the first nine months (3.6 million mt vs. year-ago 1.8 million mt), India (4.4 million mt vs. 1.9 million mt) and Brazil (4.5 million mt vs. 1.9 million mt). Third-quarter fertilizer income was off, at $212.5 million on sales of $753.3 million from the year-ago income of $253.5 million on sales of $677.1 million. Company-wide, ICL reported nine-month net income to shareholders of $779.3 million on sales of $4.27 billion, up from the year-ago income of $567.7 million on sales of $3.33 billion. Third-quarter income was $242.9 million on sales of $1.39 billion, down from the year-ago income of $256.6 million on sales of $1.35 billion. The third-quarter dip in income was attributed to higher income taxes of $47 million, reflecting the appreciation of the shekel against the dollar. ICL has declared a dividend totaling $170 million to be paid Jan. 12, 2011, in respect to third-quarter results.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain