Sixteen companies, including three Arab Gulf producers, offered 3.1 million tons of urea in the RCF tender that closed Nov. 14. Prices are not expected to be released until Friday or Monday. Industry sources are speculating prices will go into the $240s/mt CFR for a drop of about $20/mt since the last tender.
K+S Group, Kassel, reported a 125 percent increase in third-quarter EBITDA to €81 million, up from the year-ago €36 million. Revenues were up 8 percent to €905 million from €840 million. The company cited higher prices and increased sales volumes in the Agriculture customer segment as driving the positive results development.
Due to the persistently weak market environment, K+S said it will carry out additional maintenance measures at its German sites in the fourth quarter, which will reduce potash production by an additional 200,000 mt in the current year. This is on top of the potassium chloride production cut of 300,000 mt by the end of this year, announced by the company in September.
K+S now expects its full-year EBITDA to come in at about €650 million, down from its previous guidance in August of between €730 million and €830 million, less the €80 million hit from the earlier production cut announcement in September. The effect of the latest output curtailment is expected to be another €50 million. The 2018 EBITDA was €606 million.
