German potash company K+S posted 1Q EBITDA of €200 million, beating expectations by some 20%. The company highlighted the stabilization and recovery of potash prices following the volatility triggered by the war in Ukraine and does not anticipate any oversupply in the potash market.
1Q revenues totaled €988 million, down 18% from €1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2023, while free cash flow was €111 million, down from €113 million. Agriculture segment revenues decreased to €680 million due to lower fertilizer prices, with low prices partially offset by higher sales volumes of more than 2 million mt versus 1.73 million mt in 1Q 2023.
“Strong European business with a high share of fertilizer specialties has provided a successful start into the financial year,” said Dr. Burkhard Lohr, K+S Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors. “This increases the probability that EBITDA for the year as a whole will be above the lower end of the indicated range of €500 million to €650 million.”
K+S cautioned that its competitors have not yet settled contracts with China and India, noting that a continued delay could trigger a wait-and-see attitude on the part of customers, which could reduce sales volumes to around 7.3 million mt.