2024 Agribusiness Earning Results Highlights

Week of February 24th: Mosaic, BASF, and ICL

Author

Shane Thomas
March 01, 2025 • Read Time: 7 minutes

Index

  1. BASF

  2. ICL Group

  3. Mosaic

Each quarter in Upstream Ag Professional, I shrewdly analyze publicly traded agribusiness earnings, cutting through the noise to highlight the key takeaways that matter for those of us working in the agriculture industry.

By breaking down earnings results and executive commentary, I provide the strategic insights agribusiness professionals need to stay ahead.

The below is just one portion—more deep dives on the most influential agribusinesses, their market positioning, and strategic initiatives are coming.

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Other 2024 Results:

The Agricultural Solutions segment of BASF had a FY sales decline of 2.9% to $9.8 billion and a FY 14.6% decline in EBITDA before special items for 2024, mainly due to challenges in the glufosinate-ammonium business. While sales volumes increased slightly, competition-driven price reductions and currency effects negatively impacted overall performance. They had a positive Q4 2024.

Executive Commentary

On the spinout IPO of the Agriculture Solutions division:

In agricultural solutions, we are advancing as announced in September, and we are currently focusing on executing the legal separation and the implementation of a dedicated ERP system by 2020 by 2027. In parallel with the support of financial advisors, our team is beginning to prepare for the IPO readiness, which is also targeted for 2027.

For a full breakdown of the BASF spinout initiative, check out: BASF Agriculture Solutions Capital Markets Day Highlights and Analysis - Upstream Ag Professional

On margins and market conditions:

In 2024, the market for crop protection and seed products was characterized by high channel inventories at the distributors, low customer demand and continued destocking in an overall environment of falling prices. Compared with the record prior year earnings in BASF's Agricultural Solutions segment declined mainly on account of the difficult market conditions in the glufosinate-ammonium business. Overall, our Agricultural Solutions segment performed well in a challenging market and competitive environment, finishing the year with a strong fourth quarter and a full-year EBITDA margin before special items of 20%.

BASF did experience some positive pricing in the last quarter, which was less on the crop protection side:

The positive price effect was predominantly on the seed side, so predominantly field crop seeds. But I'd say also in the herbicides, we had a positive price effect. So on the crop protection side, the mix picture, some price losses but also some price gains.

In 2024, ICL's Growing Solutions segment, which focuses on specialty agriculture products, reported sales of $1.95 million, a slight decrease from $2.1 billion in 2023.The segment's EBITDA was $210 million, down from $168 million the previous year. This decline was primarily due to exchange rate fluctuations, especially in Brazil, and lower sales volumes in China, which offset gains in other regions.

In 2024, Growing Solutions entered the biological fertilizer segments and delivered new product sales of more than $250 million. In 2024, ICL spent slightly lower on R&D according to their financial reporting, coming in at $69 million compared to $71 million in 2023. The entry into biologicals was driven by an acquisition of Nitro 1000, a manufacturer, developer and provider of biologicals in Brazil for approximately $30 million. ICL also acquired North American manufacturing assets for specialty fertilizer, a region that has less than 10% of their revenue.

The Phosphate Solutions segment, encompassing both specialty and commodity products, saw sales of $2.3 billion in 2024, compared to $2.4 billion in 2023. EBITDA for this segment was $509 million, a decrease from $573 million the previous year. The reduction in sales and EBITDA was influenced by lower market prices and increased competition, despite higher volumes in certain regions.

The Potash segment experienced a decline in sales to $1,640 million from $2,672 million in 2023, with EBITDA decreasing to $453 million from $1,303 million. This downturn was largely due to persistent potash price declines throughout the year.

Overall, ICL's specialties-driven businesses contributed 70% of the total adjusted EBITDA for 2024, highlighting the company's strategic focus on specialty minerals and advanced agriculture solutions.

ICL Comments

The Growing Solutions segment aims to achieve global leadership in plant nutrition by enhancing its position in its core markets of specialty agriculture, ornamental horticulture, turf and landscaping, fertilizers and FertilizerpluS, and by targeting high-growth markets such as Brazil, India, and China. The segment leverages its unique R&D capabilities, substantial agronomic experience, global footprint, backward integration to potash, phosphate and polysulphate and its chemistry know-how, as well as its ability to integrate and generate synergies from acquired businesses. The segment continuously works to expand its broad portfolio of specialty plant nutrition, plant stimulation and plant health solutions, which consists of enhanced efficiency and controlled release fertilizers (CRF), water-soluble fertilizers (WSF), liquid fertilizers and straights (MKP/MAP/PeKacid), FertilizerpluS, soil and foliar micronutrients, biostimulants, soil conditioners, seed treatment products and adjuvants.

Overall Performance

  • Net Income - $175 million (85% decline YoY from $1.165 billion in 2023).

  • Adjusted EBITDA - $2.2 billion, down 20% from $2.76 billion in 2023.

  • Revenue - $11.1 billion, a 19% decline from $13.7 billion in 2023, mainly due to lower potash and fertilizer prices.

Phosphate Segment FY 2024

  • Revenue - $4.5 billion (↓4% from $4.7 billion in 2023).

  • Sales Volumes - 6.4 million tonnes (↓8.5%, from 7.0 million tonnes in 2023).

  • DAP Selling Price (FOB) - $585 per tonne (↑2%, from $573 per tonne in 2023).

  • Adjusted EBITDA - $1.19 billion (↓3%, from $1.23 billion in 2023).

  • Production Impact - 700,000 tonnes lost due to hurricanes and operational issues.

  • Outlook - 2025 production expected to increase to 7.2–7.6 million tonnes.

MicroEssentials

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