Raviv Zoller
Analyst · Bank of America. Please ask your question
Thank you, Peggy, and welcome, everyone. I’m pleased to report solid first quarter earnings, which were driven by record results across all our specialty businesses, as we executed on our stated growth strategy. We continue to create strong cash generation and margin expansion supported by improved market fundamentals, which began in the latter part of 2020, continued into the first quarter and now the second quarter. Specifically, on Slide 3, you can see some highlights from each division. Industrial products record quarter was driven by strong demand in high market prices and bolstered by long-term contracts. Our potash operations delivered another record for first quarter production at the Dead Sea, and our team in Spain completed the launch of the ramp connecting our Cabanasses mine and Suria plant. Phosphate Solutions delivered record sales and EBITDA, including our YPH joint venture, driven by product innovation, cost efficiencies and the continued shift to specialties. Innovative Ag Solutions also had a remarkable quarter, as results benefited from the unified sales and marketing organization, higher volume and improved product mix. Each of these divisions is focused on one or more of our strategic target markets, and Slide 4 shows the progress we are making in these efforts as we work together to create impact for a sustainable future for our communities, our employees and our investors. In our industrial end markets, our recent investments in capacity have enabled us to meet booming long-term demand for our specialty offerings. For our Food focus, while a smaller part of our business today, our commitment should be apparent following the strategic additions we have made to our leadership team and our Board of Directors. I would like to welcome both Chris Millington to our executive team as our new Head of Food Specialties, and Gadi Lesin to our Board of Directors. Both of these individuals have significant food industry experience, spanning a wide array of segments and categories, and we’re pleased to have them on our team. I would also like to welcome Elad Aharonson to ICL, who joins us as President of Innovative Ag Solutions. Turning to our agriculture end market. Our existing operations, when combined with our recent acquisition announcements, position ICL as the leading specialty plant nutrition company in Brazil, one of the world’s fastest-growing agriculture markets. Turning to Slide 5. You can see our progress over the past four quarters with sales of $1.5 billion in the first quarter, and this is the first time we’ve hit this milestone since 2014. EBITDA of $295 million was up nearly 20% over the prior year’s first quarter, and we continue to report strong cash generation with operating cash flow of $206 million, up $40 million year-over-year. Our complete first quarter results are on Slide 6, where you can see growth in every single financial metric. This success reflects the results of our strategic focus on key specialty end markets, where we are committed to growing as we move forward. Moving on to Slide 7, let’s begin our segment review with Industrial Products, where we had record sales of $398 million, up 9% versus the first quarter of 2020 and EBITDA of $122 million. This business continued to benefit from our strategic shift to long-term contracts as the end market for bromine and phosphorus-based flame retardants exhibited strong demand, including electronics, construction and textiles and with the automotive market beginning to pick up. While sales of clear brine fluids are lagging, along with the recovery in oil and gas, we did have a record quarter in specialty minerals. This was driven by increased sales to the pharma and body care markets as well as higher prices and sales of magnesium chloride due to more traditional winter weather in the United States. Elemental bromine prices have continued to increase since the end of 2020. However, we have also seen some increases in freight rates and raw material prices and experienced some raw material constraints. We’re at full capacity at our new TBBA plant in Neot Hovav and are already considering expanding capacity for additional long-term agreements. As always, we remain focused on our value over volume in this specialty business. Turning now to Slide 8 and a review of potash, where global grain demand supported higher potash prices, and we saw strong growth in sales and EBITDA, up 23% and 25%, respectively. Our average realized price per ton of $257 in the quarter was up only 3% year-over-year, which indicates recent price increases will have a more significant impact in the second and third quarters. Just after the first quarter ended, we signed an agreement with IPL, India’s largest importer of potash for $280 per tonne, $50 per tonne higher than the previous contract. On the potash production side, we had a record first quarter with the Dead Sea producing more than 1 million tons. In Spain, as I mentioned earlier, the ramp between the Cabanasses mine and Suria plant is now operational, following a three-week shutdown beginning in late March. This project is expected to increase capacity with the annual run rate anticipated to reach approximately 1 million tonnes by the end of 2021. At ICL Boulby, Polysulphate production was up 3% year-over-year, while sales volume increased significantly, up 38% versus the first quarter of 2020. Turning to Slide 9, in our Phosphate Solutions division, which reported record sales and EBITDA of $545 million and $94 million, respectively. These achievements follow almost two years of steady growth driven by product innovation and cost efficiencies as the business continues to shift from traditional phosphate to specialties. Our YPH joint venture had its best quarter ever, with higher prices, increased volume and improved mix as well as procurement and production efficiencies. Overall, commodity price improvement, which began in the second half of 2020, continued in the first quarter along with increased prices for raw materials and higher freight rates. For specialties, we had strong results for phosphate food specialties with higher volumes, lower operating costs at favorable exchange rates. Food demand remained stable as it did through 2020, and we benefited from our strong global presence and reputation our customers could rely on, combined with our regional production network. For our industrial solutions, we began to see end market demand return while phosphate fertilizers saw continued significant recovery across all geographies. Finally, turning to Slide 10 and our Innovative Ag Solutions, a business which had a remarkable quarter with sales of $241 million, up more than 20%, while EBITDA of nearly $30 million was up more than 50%, we saw strong demand in most of our target markets with higher volumes and improved product mix. We also maximized lower-priced raw materials in the stock, but we expect these cost inputs to increase in the second quarter. Most importantly, Innovative Ag Solutions benefited from the unified sales and marketing organization that we put in place last year and from geographical expansion and new product launches. The division also had record turf and ornamental sales, up more than 25% with higher volume following a rather soft first quarter of last year. Specialty agriculture also had a good quarter, with sales up double digits. Overall, Innovative Ag Solutions benefited from leading market share and sales of higher margin products, and we expect greater contribution from this business following our recent acquisition announcements in Brazil, and there are more details on Slide 11. In mid-March, we announced the acquisition of South American Plant Nutrition business of Compass Minerals, for approximately $400 million. When combined with our existing operations in Brazil and our recent Fertilaqua acquisition, ICL will become Brazil’s leading specialty plant nutrition company, and this will allow us to deliver the critical mass we have been seeking in Brazil. The Compass operations cover a broad range of solutions and include all key crops in Brazil with a presence in 25 out of 26 Brazilian states. Importantly, this business serves more than 32,000 farms, both directly and indirectly, but notably derives approximately 50% of total sales from its direct to farm business. Our acquisitions in Brazil expand both our product portfolio and our profitability, while providing a seasonal balance of business between the Northern and Southern hemispheres. In addition, we expect to realize significant commercial and operational benefits. Importantly, both Fertilaqua and Compass, bring a wealth of experience to ICL, and we want to welcome them as they join our extended team in Brazil. Before I turn the call over to Kobi for a review of the financials, I want to highlight our key takeaways on Slide 12. In the first quarter, sales crossed $1.5 billion for the first time since 2014, as each business segment is driving toward its strategic targets. For industrial products, we have expanded bromine compound capacity to meet demand as we shift to more profitable long-term contracts, and we are looking at additional investments and innovation opportunities. As I mentioned earlier, phosphate specialties is delivering consistent growth as the business shifts from traditional phosphates to specialties. This includes alternative proteins and our new plant in St. Louis is expected to be operational in the third quarter. We hope to be able to welcome many of you to visit in the near future. Our Innovative Ag Solutions division delivered first quarter profitability in excess of our total profits for 2019. This business is poised to accelerate growth even further by leveraging our acquisitions in Brazil. And finally, our potash business remains on track and continues to maximize capacity and delivered yet another production record in the first quarter of 2021. With the ramp project complete in Spain, we will begin seeing additional capacity coming online for this division. This has been a fantastic quarter for ICL. And it would not have been possible without the truly talented team we have spread out across the globe. I would like to thank each and every one of them for their hard work and dedication this quarter and every day. With that, I’ll turn the call over to Kobi.