FRANKFURT—K+S AG, the German fertilizer and salt producer trying
to fend off an unsolicited takeover approach, has reported
double-digit growth in second-quarter revenue and earnings, helped
by better potash prices and the euro's weakness against the
dollar.
"The strong performance reinforces our guidance of a significant
earnings increase this year," K+S Chief Executive Norbert Steiner
said.
K+S, whose board has rejected a near $9 billion approach from
Canada's Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., said on Thursday that
after-tax profit rose 46% to €118.7 million ($130.6 million),
compared with €81.1 million in the year-ago period. Revenue surged
16% to €914.4 million, while earnings before interests and taxes
rose 14% to €179.2 million.
The German group said it benefited from higher prices for
deicing salt in North America and the recovery of average prices
for its potash and magnesium business unit.
The company spelled out more detailed earnings guidance for the
full-year. It now expects operating earnings of €780 million to
€860 million, versus €641 million in 2014 and revenue of €4.35
billion to €4.55 billion in 2015, versus €3.82 billion last
year.
K+S last week rejected a second takeover approach from Potash
Corp. The company said earlier this week that individual
shareholders are lining up with the German potash and salt
producer's institutional investors to oppose, according to a
shareholder survey it conducted.
The takeover fight comes amid weakness in global potash prices
particularly since 2013 when Russia's Uralkali pulled out of a
sales partnership with Belarus. Regional sales alliances had
previously kept potash prices high.
K+S and Potash Corp. both mine potash and a tie-up would create
a business that could control as much as 30% of the global
market.
Write to Neetha Mahadevan at neetha.mahadevan@wsj.com
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