SANTIAGO, Chile, Aug. 24,
2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Highlights
- SQM reported net income for the six months ended June 30, 2017 of US$204.4
million.
- Earnings per ADR totaled US$0.78
for the first half of 2017, higher than the US$0.54 reported for the first half of 2016.
- Revenues for the first half of 2017 were US$1,023.9 million, 16.2% higher than revenues
for the first half of 2016.
- SQM will hold a conference call to discuss these results on
Thursday, August 24, at 11:00am ET (12:00pm
Chile time).
Participant Dial-In (Toll
Free): 1-855-238-1018
Participant International Dial-In:
1-412-542-4107
Webcast:
http://services.choruscall.com/links/sqm170824.html
- SQM will hold an Investor Day in New
York at September 7, 2017.
Patricio de Solminihac along with
senior management from the finance and operations teams will also
join.
Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) (NYSE: SQM;
Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A) reported earnings
today for the six months ended June
30, 2017 of US$204.4
million (US$0.78 per ADR), an
increase from US$141.6 million
(US$0.54 per ADR), representing a
44.3% increase compared to the earnings reported for the six months
ended June 30, 2016. Gross
profit reached US$357.8 million
(35.0% of revenues) for the six months ended June 30, 2017, higher than US$260.5 million (29.6% of revenues) recorded for
the six months ended June 30, 2016.
Revenues totaled US$1,023.9
million for the six months ended June
30, 2017, representing an increase of 16.2% compared to
US$881.5 million reported for the six
months ended June 30, 2016.
The Company also announced earnings for the second quarter of
2017, reporting net income of US$101.2 million (US$0.38 per ADR) compared to US$83.1 million (US$0.32 per ADR) for the second quarter 2016.
Gross profit for the second quarter 2017 reached
US$179.9 million; higher than the
US$146.9 million recorded for the
second quarter 2016. Revenues totaled US$505.7 million, an increase of approximately
3.3% compared to the second quarter 2016, when revenues amounted to
US$489.6 million.
SQM's Chief Executive Officer, Patricio
de Solminihac, stated, "We are pleased with the results we
published today. The EBITDA for this first half of the year was
US$433 million. Sales volumes in the
specialty plant nutrition business line were the strongest reported
in recent history. As anticipated, the sales volumes in the
potassium chloride business line were down compared to the second
quarter last year; we are still expecting that sales volumes in
this business line will be between 1.2 and 1.3 million MT this year
as we maximize lithium production. Also as anticipated, potassium
chloride prices have stabilized at higher levels than last
year."
"In the lithium market, we continue to see strong demand growth.
We expect the average price in the second half to be higher than
the average price seen during the first half of this year. We
continue to move forward with our new projects; in Chile, the lithium hydroxide expansion and the
lithium carbonate expansion are expected to be completed by the
middle of 2018. In Argentina, we
are working on the hydrogeological model with the corresponding
drilling, a key component of the final development stage. Finally,
during July, we announced a 50/50 joint venture with Kidman
Resources to develop a 40,000 MT lithium project in western
Australia, the high-quality Mount
Holland project. These initiatives are in line with our strategic
plan to continue developing lithium projects where our competitive
advantages and expertise add significant value to a growing and
attractive market."
"In the iodine market, we have been working over the past
several years to increase our sales volumes in line with our
corporate strategy and operational plan. This year
our market share should return to levels seen
before the price boom period. During the first half of
2017, we saw sales volumes reach the highest levels reported
during any six-month period. As anticipated, these higher
sales volumes have come with lower prices, but
given our current cost position, margins are healthy.
Because of the higher sales volumes we have seen in recent
quarters, and expectations that this trend will continue
in the future, we are adding new iodine capacity in
Nueva Victoria. We expect that this
expansion will bring our total capacity to approximately 14,000 MT,
and it is expected to be operational in mid-2018."
About SQM
SQM is an integrated producer and distributor of lithium,
iodine, specialty plant nutrients, potassium-related fertilizers
and industrial chemicals. Its products are based on the
development of high quality natural resources that allow the
Company to be a leader in costs, supported by a specialized
international network with sales in over 110 countries.
SQM's business strategy is to be a mining operator that
selectively integrates the production and sales of products to
industries essential for human development, such as food, health
and technology. The strategy is built on the following six
principles:
- strengthen internal processes to ensure access to key resources
required for the sustainability of the business;
- extend lean operations (M1) to the entire organization to
strengthen our cost position, increase quality and ensure
safety;
- invest in the development of a specialty fertilizer market,
including product differentiation, sales channel management and
price optimization;
- recover the iodine market share, seek consolidation and
vertical integration opportunities; invest in the development of
industrial nitrate applications;
- search and invest in lithium and potassium assets outside of
Chile to leverage our operational
capabilities, take advantage of the current lithium market appeal
and ensure access to raw materials for our potassium nitrate
production; and
- seek diversification opportunities in gold, copper and zinc
projects in the region to leverage our mining operating
capabilities and provide business continuity to our exploration
program.
The business strategy´s principles are based on the following
four concepts:
- build an organization with strategic clarity, inspirational
leaders, responsible personnel and strong values;
- develop a strategic planning process that responds to the needs
of our customers and market trends, while ensuring coordination
between all segments of the business, including sales and
operations;
- develop a robust risk control and mitigation process to
actively manage business risk; and
- improve our stakeholder management to establish links with the
community and communicate to Chile
and worldwide our contribution to industries essential for human
development.
For further information, contact:
Gerardo Illanes 56-2-24252022 /
gerardo.illanes@sqm.com
Kelly O'Brien 56-2-24252074 /
kelly.obrien@sqm.com
Irina Axenova 56-2-24252280 /
irina.axenova@sqm.com
For media inquiries, contact:
Carolina García Huidobro / carolina.g.huidobro@sqm.com
Alvaro Cifuentes /
alvaro.cifuentes@sqm.com
Tamara Rebolledo /
tamara.rebolledo@sqm.com (Northern Region)
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate,"
"plan," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "strategy," "should,"
"will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of
forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we
make concerning the Company's business outlook, future economic
performance, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses, or
other financial items, anticipated cost synergies and product or
service line growth.
Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor
assurances of future performance. Instead, they are estimates
that reflect the best judgment of SQM management based on currently
available information. Because forward-looking statements
relate to the future, they involve a number of risks, uncertainties
and other factors that are outside of our control and could cause
actual results to differ materially from those stated in such
statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these
forward-looking statements. Readers are referred to the
documents filed by SQM with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission, specifically the most recent annual report on
Form 20-F, which identifies important risk factors that could cause
actual results to differ from those contained in the
forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are
based on information available to SQM on the date hereof and SQM
assumes no obligation to update such statements, whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise.