K+S Kali Group posted a 92 percent drop in second-quarter operating earnings (EBIT 1) to €15 million ($16.7 million) on revenues of €732.1 million, compared with year-ago operating earnings of €179.2 million on sales of €914.4 million. The company cited lower average prices in its Potash and Magnesium Products business unit as well as lower sales volumes following the production standstills at the Werra sites for the fall in earnings. Also contributing, was the demand-related lower de-icing salt sale volumes particularly in the North American business as a result of the mild 2015/16 winter.
In spite of the damage to a processing vessel during a routine test on July 17, K+S said the facilities at the Legacy potash project have not been affected by the damage and commissioning of the plant is still scheduled for the end of August 2016. However, the company said production of the first ton of potash at the site will be delayed until the second quarter of 2017 from the end of 2016 as originally planned. While K+S said it is still targeting to reach production capacity of 2 million mt at the end of 2017 at Legacy, production will be below the expected volume of up to 1 million mt during the course of the delayed start-up period next year.