Santiago, Chile, November 19, 2013 –Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (“SQM”) (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A) reported today earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 of US$398.1 million (US$1.51per ADR), a decrease from US$507.4 million (US$1.93 per ADR) for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. Gross Margin1 reached US$575.2 million (33.6% of revenues) for the nine months ended September 30, 2013, a decrease compared to US$794.3 million (43.4% of revenues) for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. Revenues totaled US$1,710.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2013, representing a decrease of 6.4% compared to US$1,828.2 million reported for the nine months ended September 30, 2012.
The Company also announced earnings for the third quarter of 2013, reporting net income2 of US$138.9 million (US$0.53 per ADR) compared to US$165.2 million (US$0.63 per ADR) for the third quarter of 2012. Gross Margin for the third quarter of 2013 reached US$148.5 million, a decrease compared to US$262.3 million for the third quarter of 2012. Revenues totaled US$521.1 million, a decrease of approximately 15.3% compared to US$615.3 million for the third quarter of 2012.
Patricio Contesse, SQM’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Our third quarter results were impacted by recent uncertainty in the potassium chloride market. There are various reports and information available today regarding the potash market. These reports include both positive and negative information, which has in turn led to uncertainty relating to short-term potassium chloride pricing. We continue to believe that market demand is the most important indicator when assessing the potash market, and we are confident that total demand levels for 2014 will surpass the levels reached in 2013. Our total production cost of potassium chloride is well below the market price.”
Mr. Contesse went on to say, “In the iodine market, we have seen slightly lower growth than anticipated demand during the first nine months of 2013. As expected, we see new volumes from competitors in the iodine market, which impacted our third quarter results. With limited public information available from our competitors, we do not have a clear view on supply growth in the future; it is therefore difficult to give specific guidance relating to our iodine sales volumes for 2014.”
On a different subject, Mr. Contesse said, “Recently, we teamed with a leading global management consultant in an effort to reduce costs company-wide. We are proud of the results we achieved as various initiatives were implemented at all levels of SQM. The company is moving in the right direction, reducing costs and improving its productivity.”