FRANKFURT – German potash miner K+S vowed to increase earnings significantly this year, as it ramps up production at its new Bethune mine in Canada and after overcoming temporary restrictions on waste water at its main domestic mine.
Revenues would be tangibly higher and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) would see significant gains, it said on Thursday.
Fourth-quarter operating profit adjusted for currency hedging effects (Ebit I) came in at €92.7-million, up from €27.5-million a year earlier but slightly below the €95-million expected on average by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Global potash prices are slowly perking up as plant closures ease oversupply in the industry. K+S said the average price of its potash products edged up by 1.6% to €250/t during the quarter.
A €180-million waste water treatment plant in Germany will help the mineral miner to cope with what remains of local environmental restrictions after painful temporary limits were lifted.
It has also settled legal disputes with local communities and environmentalists, who were fighting its practice of injecting salty waste water - a byproduct of processing potassium ore into fertiliser products - into porous layers of rock.