Market-Place-4.0 K+S AG

10.08.2023

K+S: Figures for G2 and H1 2023 - Positive impetus for the second half of the year prevails

K+S: Figures for G2 and H1 2023 - Positive impetus for the second half of the year prevails (credits: K+S)

K+S generated revenues of just under €826 million in the second quarter of the current year, following a record figure of €1.5 billion in the prior-year quarter. EBITDA operating earnings reached €24 million (Q2/2022: €706 million). This was mainly attributable to declining prices in the Agriculture customer segment and lower sales volumes. Subsequent price adjustments not relating to the accounting period, which were necessary following the closing of the China contract, burdened the key figures in this customer segment. Inflation-related additions to provisions for mining obligations amounting to around €18 million also had a negative impact on EBITDA.

• Q2 revenues: €826 million (Q2/22: €1.5 billion); H1: €2 billion (H1/22: €2.7 billion)
• Q2 EBITDA: €24 million (Q2/22: €706 million); H1: €478 million (H1/22: €1.2 billion)
• H1 adjusted free cash flow: €+274 million (H1/2022: €+234 million)
• Agriculture customer segment: average selling price significantly below record year 2022, sales volumes at 1.67 million tonnes (Q2/22: 1.87 million tonnes)
• Bottoming out of potassium chloride prices in the key overseas market Brazil at the end of the second quarter of 2023
• Shareholders’ participation in the success of the Company: dividend of €191.4 million (€1.00 per share) paid in May; €200 million share buyback program started: buyback volume of €46.7 million in second quarter
• 2023 outlook:
  • EBITDA expected to range between €600 million and €800 million (2022: €2.4 billion)
  • Adjusted free cash flow between €300 million and €450 million expected (2022: €932 million)

“The price development, particularly in Brazil, was weaker than originally expected,” says Dr. Burkhard Lohr, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of K+S Aktiengesellschaft. “In the meantime, however, we have seen the long-awaited bottoming out there. We assume that the positive signals for the course of the second half of 2023 will prevail.”

Development in the customer segments

In the Agriculture customer segment, revenues decreased to €557 million in the second quarter (Q2/2022: €1,244.2 million), mainly due to price factors. Following record results in the previous financial year, revenues in the first half of 2023 reached €1.4 billion (H1/2022: €2.2 billion). Sales volumes amounted to 1.67 million tonnes in the second quarter, compared with 1.87 million tonnes in the prior-year period. The main reason for this decline was the continued wait-and-see attitude on the part of the  customers in some sales regions.

In the Industry+ customer segment, revenues rose slightly to €269 million in the second quarter despite weaker demand overall (Q2/2022: € 266 million). Tangibly lower sales volumes for industrial applications and significantly lower prices for chemical products containing potash were offset by significant price increases, especially for salt products. In the first half of the year, revenues rose tangibly to €599 million (H1/2022: €534 million), mainly as a result of the price increase for products for industrial applications. Overall, sales volumes in the second quarter reached 1.39 million tonnes, compared with 1.46 million tonnes in the prior-year quarter.

Outlook for 2023

For the year as a whole, it will not be possible to compensate for the EBITDA shortfall of the second quarter, at the end of which prices bottomed out in key overseas markets. Moreover, a volume-related optimization of the product portfolio is having an impact on production volumes. Furthermore, as a result of the port strike in Canada, negative effects from the still ongoing normalization of supply chains cannot be ruled out. If the positive demand impetus and price trends currently observed continue in the further course of the year, EBITDA would reach the upper end of the range at around €800 million. If, however, there is a renewed reluctance to buy in key sales regions, this could lead to negative volume and price effects. In this case, EBITDA could be at the lower end of the range at about €600 million (previous forecast of May 9, 2023, which was classified as unlikely to be achieved in an ad hoc announcement of June 14, 2023: €1.15 billion to €1.35 billion; record year 2022: €2.4 billion).

Source: K+S

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09.08.2023

SMT Scharf AG publishes preliminary H1 2023 results

• Consolidated revenue of EUR 31.7 million on a preliminary basis
• Operating result (EBIT) of EUR -1.8 million
• New FY 2023 guidance: Consolidated revenue of EUR 73 million and EBIT of EUR  3.3 million   

SMT Scharf AG (WKN A3DRAE; ISIN DE000A3DRAE2), a leading global provider of customised transport solutions and logistics systems for underground mining, generated consolidated revenue of EUR 31.7 million during the first six months of the 2023 fiscal year on the basis of preliminary figures (H1 / 2022: EUR 37.5 million).  

09.08.2023

Beach Energy Limited - Board Changes

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09.08.2023

Akobo Minerals signs refinery agreement with Swiss-based MKS PAMP

Akobo Minerals AB, the Scandinavian-based Ethiopian gold exploration and boutique mining company, today announced that it has signed an agreement with MKS PAMP for a range of gold refinery-related services. The company - one of the most respected precious metals industry players - is an independently operated precious metals refining and fabricating company and part of the MKS PAMP GROUP.  

08.08.2023

Balfour Beatty VINCI delivers third huge HS2 bridge move in the West Midlands in July

• 5,600 tonne bridge moved under the Coventry to Leamington railway 27 hours ahead of schedule
• This is the third giant bridge move in two weeks as HS2’s construction ramps up in the West Midlands
• Over 500 people delivered the three bridge operations, part of the 9,000 workforce building HS2 in the region