ICL Group’s Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Lag in Q4

ICL Group Ltd (ICL Quick QuoteICL – Free Report) recorded profits of $70 million or 6 cents per share in fourth-quarter 2024, up from $67 million or 5 cents in the year-ago quarter. 

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were 8 cents, down from 10 cents a year ago. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 6 cents.

Find the latest earnings estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Sales fell around 5% yearly to $1,601 million in the quarter. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,704.5 million. The company saw lower sales across its business segments in the quarter.

ICL’s Segment Highlights

Sales in the Industrial Products segment fell roughly 6% year over year to $280 million in the quarter. EBITDA went up roughly 25% year over year to $70 million. In Flame retardants, bromine-based sales fell year-over-year while phosphorus-based sales rose on higher volumes, mainly in Europe. Sales were flat for elemental bromine while clear brine fluids saw lower sales. Specialty minerals saw modest rise in sales. 

Sales in the Potash segment dropped around 11% year over year to $422 million in the reported quarter. EBITDA also fell 23% year over year to $130 million. Sales were hurt by lower potash prices in the quarter. 

The Phosphate Solutions segment’s sales fell roughly 2% year over year to $507 million. EBITDA declined 5% year over year to $132 million. Sales fell in both white phosphoric acid and industrial phosphates in the reported quarter.

Sales in the Growing Solutions segment declined around 8% year over year to $439 million in the quarter. EBITDA climbed around 240% from the same quarter last year to $51 million. Sales fell across Brazil, Europe and Asia, partly offset by an increase in North America.  

ICL’s FY24 Results

Earnings (as reported) for full-year 2024 were 32 cents per share, down from 50 cents a year ago.  Sales fell around 9% year over year to around $6,841 million.

ICL Group’s Financials

At the end of 2024, ICL had cash and cash equivalents of $327 million, down around 22% year over year. Long-term debt was $1,909 million, up nearly 4% year over year.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $452 million in the reported quarter and $1,468 million for full-year 2024.

ICL’s Guidance

ICL expects the specialties-driven segments’ EBITDA to be between $0.95 billion and $1.15 billion for 2025. For potash, it sees 2025 sales volumes to be between 4.5 million metric tons and 4.7 million metric tons.

ICL Stock’s Price Performance

ICL’s shares have gained 13.3% in the past year compared with the Zacks Fertilizers industry’s 5.5% decline.

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ICL’s Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

ICL currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Fortuna Mining Corp. (FSM Quick QuoteFSM – Free Report) , Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (KRO Quick QuoteKRO – Free Report) and Orla Mining Ltd. (ORLA Quick QuoteORLA – Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Fortuna is scheduled to release fourth-quarter results on March 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSM’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 16 cents per share. FSM beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters while missing twice, with the average earnings surprise being 53.5%.

Kronos Worldwide is expected to release fourth-quarter results on March 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KRO’s fourth-quarter earnings stands at 11 cents. KRO beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters while missing once, with the average earnings surprise being 41.7%.

Orla Mining is slated to report fourth-quarter results on March 18. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 7 cents. ORLA beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters while missing once and meeting on the other occasion, with the average earnings surprise being 97.9%.