Tel Aviv — A leading Israeli investment bank sees signs of a rally in commodity prices that would favorably impact fertilizer companies in general, and Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) in particular. Clal Finance Batucha Brokerage Ltd equity analyst Jonathan Kreizman issued a bullish report on ICL, saying he believes that ICL is in a better situation that its peers. In his report he notes that the company will be able to retain its high profitability despite the stagnation in the potash market. Clal is predicting revenues of $6.976 billion for ICL in 2012, a 1.3 percent decline compared to 2011. That follows two years of rapid growth for the company. The report expects revenues to rebound in 2013 to $7.529 billion, a rise of nearly 8 percent. As for net profits, the report predicts $1.417 billion this year compared to $1.522 billion in 2011, a banner year for the company. Clal is looking for net profits to rise in 2013 to $1.591 billion. Kreizman is looking for relatively stable potash prices over the next two years. The average price for potash in 2012 in the various markets was China $470/mt, India $490/mt, Brazil $510/mt, Asia $510/mt, Israel $300/mt, and Europe $460/mt. The average price for 2013 will remain stable in China and India and rise slightly in Asia, Brazil, and Europe. The report expects ICL to sell slightly less potash this year compared to last – 4.8 million mt, down from 4.9 million mt in 2011, with quantities expected to pick up in 2013 to 5.3 million mt. The Clal report expects little change in phosphate revenues and predicts phosphate rock production of 1.8 million mt, down from 2.5 million mt in 2011, with a rebound in 2013 to 2.1 million mt. Phosphate revenue is expected to remain relatively stable, dropping slightly this year to $1.133 billion from $1.2 billion last year, and then rising again next year to $1.215 billion.
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