Clal Finance Batucha Ltd. and IBI Investment House Ltd. have published new reports on the fertilizer industry, which includes Israel Chemicals Ltd. (TASE: ICL). Two of the company's core businesses are rising potash and phosphate products, prices of which are rising fast.
Clal Finance analyst Yuval Ben-Zeev said that rising fertilizer prices have boosted prices of producers, including Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (NYSE; TSX: POT), Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS), and Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) to new heights. He attributes the rise in fertilizer prices to rising prices for corn, which reached a record of $5.20 per bushel last month, and wheat, which reached $11 per bushel.
Ben-Zeev also notes the upbeat comments by Potash Corporation president and CEO William Doyle that the company was so certain that the rising fertilizer price trend was long term that management considered a share buy-back last month after the share fell 21%. Doyle believes that "we ain't seen nuthin' yet."
IBI analyst Yuval Zheira says, "Rising prices for phosphates has resulted in the chain value reversing in Israel Chemicals' favor." He predicts that the company will benefit from the rise in phosphate prices from $40 per ton a few months ago to the current $150-200 per ton.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 20, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008