ICL Reports First Quarter 2026 Results

Business

ICL Reports First Quarter 2026 Results

2026-05-13 14:22 Last Updated At：14:30

TEL AVIV, Israel & ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 2026--

ICL (NYSE: ICL) (TASE: ICL), a leading global specialty minerals company, today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. Consolidated sales of $2.0 billion were up 14% versus $1.8 billion in the prior year. Operating income was $235 million versus $185 million in the first quarter of last year, while adjusted operating income of $252 million was up 21% versus $208 million. For the first quarter, net income attributable to shareholders was $126 million versus $91 million in the prior year, with adjusted net income of $139 million up 26% compared to $110 million. Adjusted EBITDA of $412 million was up 15% versus $359 million. Diluted earnings per share were $0.10 versus $0.07 in the first quarter of last year, with adjusted diluted EPS of $0.11 up 22% versus $0.09 in the first quarter of last year.

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“ICL delivered solid growth across all key financial metrics in the first quarter, including a 14% increase in sales, a 15% increase in adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS improvement of 22%, with sales growth in all four business segments. This successful performance was achieved as the company demonstrated exceptional execution and operational resilience, while continuing to benefit from our distinctive global presence with regionally diversified operations. The first quarter also included the acquisition of Bartek Ingredients and the establishment of a specialty fertilizer production facility in India – proof points that we are executing against our strategy to drive growth in specialty crop nutrition and specialty food solutions,” said Elad Aharonson, president and CEO of ICL.

“After this successful first quarter, where we benefitted from higher bromine and potash prices – which are expected to remain elevated – we are raising our guidance by $100 million. Looking ahead, we expect to continue to benefit from the current pricing environment, and we will also work to manage raw material costs and other headwinds by swiftly navigating changes in market conditions,” concluded Aharonson.

The company increased its guidance for full year 2026 consolidated adjusted EBITDA to $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion from $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion. The company continues to expect Potash sales volumes of between 4.5 million and 4.7 million metric tons. (1a)

The international earnings call will begin today at 8:30 a.m. New York time (1:30 p.m. London and 3:30 p.m. Tel Aviv). The dial-in number for financial analysts in North America is (833) 461-5787, or (585) 542-9983 for international analysts, and the conference ID is 273801307, or they can pre-register for the call by visiting https://events.q4inc.com/analyst/273801307?pwd=lqktZ3dC. Employees, the media and the public are invited to listen to the call using the webcast link found at ICL Group Investors Relations - Reports News & Events.

Industrial Products

First quarter 2026

Key developments versus prior year

Potash

First quarter 2026

Key developments versus prior year

Phosphate Solutions

First quarter 2026

Key developments versus prior year

Growing Solutions

First quarter 2026

Key developments versus prior year

Financial Items

Financing Expenses

Net financing expenses for the first quarter of 2026 were $42 million, up versus $37 million in the corresponding quarter of last year.

Tax Expenses

Reported tax expenses in the first quarter of 2026 were $53 million, reflecting an effective tax rate of about 28%, compared to $42 million in the corresponding quarter of last year, reflecting an effective tax rate of 28%.

Available Liquidity

ICL’s available cash resources, which are comprised of cash and deposits, unutilized revolving credit facility, and unutilized securitization, totaled $1,491 million, as of March 31, 2026.

Outstanding Net Debt

As of March 31, 2026, ICL’s net financial liabilities amounted to $2,569 million, an increase of $309 million compared to December 31, 2025. The increase is attributable, in part, to a $152 million increase in debt, with $135 million of secured borrowings incurred by the company in connection with the acquisition of Bartek Ingredients in January 2026. In addition, as of March 31, 2026, the fair value balance of currency and interest rate swap transactions (CCS) economically reduced the company's finance liabilities by approximately $47 million.

Dividend Distribution

In connection with ICL’s first quarter 2026 results, the Board of Directors declared a dividend of 5.35 cents per share, or approximately $69 million, versus 4.26 cents per share, or approximately $55 million, in the first quarter of last year. The dividend will be payable on June 17, 2026, to shareholders of record as of June 2, 2026.

About ICL

ICL Group Ltd. is a global leader in agriculture, food and industrial solutions, utilizing its unique mineral resources and extensive expertise to address key sustainability challenges related to food security and access to essential minerals. ICL is focused on driving long-term growth through its specialty agriculture and food businesses, while strategically managing its bromine, potash and phosphate mineral resources. ICL’s global professional workforce is dedicated to expanding its growth engines and efficiently operating – both structurally and economically – while maintaining and optimizing its core operations. The company’s operations are organized under four segments: Industrial Products, Potash, Phosphate Solutions and Growing Solutions. ICL shares are dual listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (NYSE and TASE: ICL). The company employs more than 12,000 people worldwide, and its 2025 revenues totaled approximately $7 billion. For more information, visit the company's website at www.icl-group.com.

For more information, visit ICL's website at icl-group.com.

Details about ICL’s sustainability practices and performance can be found in the 2024 Corporate Responsibility ESG Report.

You can also learn more about ICL on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, X and Instagram.

Guidance

(1a) The company only provides guidance on a non-GAAP basis. The company does not provide a reconciliation of forward-looking adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) to GAAP net income (loss), due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting, and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for such reconciliation, in particular, because special items such as restructuring, litigation, and other matters, used to calculate projected net income (loss) vary dramatically based on actual events, the company is not able to forecast on a GAAP basis with reasonable certainty all deductions needed in order to provide a GAAP calculation of projected net income (loss) at this time. The amount of these deductions may be material and therefore could result in projected GAAP net income (loss) being materially less than projected adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP). The guidance speaks only as of the date hereof. The company undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release or to reflect actual outcomes, unless required by law. The company provides guidance for consolidated adjusted EBITDA and for its Potash business the company provides sales volumes guidance. The company believes this information provides greater transparency, as the price of potash has stabilized over the past few years and consolidated adjusted EBITDA is now a more relevant metric for investors to evaluate the company’s performance and compare its financial results between periods.

Non-GAAP Statement

The company discloses in this quarterly report non-IFRS financial measures titled adjusted operating income, adjusted net income attributable to the company’s shareholders, diluted adjusted earnings per share, and adjusted EBITDA. Management uses adjusted operating income, adjusted net income attributable to the company’s shareholders, diluted adjusted earnings per share, and adjusted EBITDA to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period. The company calculates adjusted operating income by adjusting our operating income to add certain items, as set forth in the reconciliation table under “Adjustments to reported operating, and net income (non-GAAP)” below. Some of these items may recur. Adjusted net income attributable to the company’s shareholders is calculated by adjusting net income attributable to the company’s shareholders to add certain items, as set forth in the reconciliation table under “Adjustments to reported operating, and net income (non-GAAP)” below, excluding the total tax impact of such adjustments. Diluted adjusted earnings per share is calculated by dividing adjusted net income by the weighted-average number of diluted ordinary shares outstanding. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as net income before financing expenses, net, taxes on income, share in earnings of equity-accounted investees, depreciation and amortization, and certain adjustments presented in the reconciliation table under “Consolidated adjusted EBITDA, and diluted adjusted Earnings Per Share for the periods of activity” below, which were adjusted for in calculating the adjusted operating income. You should not view adjusted operating income, adjusted net income attributable to the company’s shareholders, diluted adjusted earnings per share or adjusted EBITDA as a substitute for operating income or net income attributable to the company’s shareholders determined in accordance with IFRS, and you should note that the definitions of adjusted operating income, adjusted net income attributable to the company’s shareholders, diluted adjusted earnings per share, and adjusted EBITDA may differ from those used by other companies. Additionally, other companies may use other measures to evaluate their performance, which may reduce the usefulness of the company's non-IFRS financial measures as tools for comparison. However, the company believes adjusted operating income, adjusted net income attributable to the company’s shareholders, diluted adjusted earnings per share, and adjusted EBITDA provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain items that management believes are not indicative of our ongoing operations.

Management uses these non-IFRS measures to evaluate the company's business strategies and management performance. The company believes these non-IFRS measures provide useful information to investors because they improve the comparability of the financial results between periods and provide for greater transparency of key measures used to evaluate performance.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains statements that constitute “forward‑looking statements,” many of which can be identified by the use of forward‑looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “expect,” “should,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “strive,” “forecast,” “targets” and “potential,” among others. The company is relying on the safe harbor provided in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, in making such forward-looking statements.

Forward‑looking statements appear in a number of places in this announcement and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the company's intent, belief or current expectations. Forward‑looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and the actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward‑looking statements due to various factors, including, but not limited to :

Loss or impairment of business licenses or mineral extractions permits or concessions, including our ability to win the new concession at the Dead Sea in 2030; the effects of the ongoing security situation in Israel, including the nature and duration of related conflicts; volatility of supply and demand and the impact of competition; the difference between actual reserves and the company reserve estimates; natural disasters and cost of compliance with environmental regulatory legislative and licensing restrictions including laws and regulation related to, and physical impacts of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions; failure to "harvest" salt which could lead to accumulation of salt at the bottom of the evaporation Pond 5 in the Dead Sea; disruptions at the company's seaport shipping facilities or regulatory restrictions affecting the company's ability to export products overseas; changes in exchange rates or prices compared to those we are currently experiencing; general market, political or economic conditions in the countries in which price increases or shortages with respect to the company's principal raw materials; pandemics may create disruptions, impacting our sales, operations, supply chain and customers; delays in termination of engagements with contractors and/or governmental obligations; the inflow of significant amounts of water into the Dead Sea which could adversely affect production at the company plants; labor disputes, slowdowns and strikes involving the company employees; pension and health insurance liabilities; changes to governmental incentive programs or tax benefits, creation of new fiscal or tax related legislation; and/or higher tax liabilities; changes in the company evaluations and estimates, which serve as a basis for the recognition and manner of measurement of assets and liabilities; failure to integrate or realize expected benefits from mergers and acquisitions, organizational restructuring and joint ventures; currency rate fluctuations; and restrictions, as well as credit risk rising interest rates; government examinations or investigations; information technology systems or breaches of the company, or the company service providers, data security; failure to retain and/or recruit key personnel; inability to realize expected benefits from the company cost reduction program according to the expected timetable; inability to access capital markets on favorable terms; cyclicality of the company's businesses; Our exposure to risks relating to its current and future activity in emerging markets; changes in demand for the company's fertilizer products due to a decline in agricultural product prices, lack of available credit, weather conditions, government policies or other factors beyond the company control; disruption to sales of the company magnesium products due to factors beyond our control; the company including changes in global economic conditions and environmental regulations; our ability to secure additional resources to continue the company's phosphate mining operations at ICL Rotem; volatility or crises in the financial markets; hazards inherent to mining and chemical manufacturing; the failure to ensure the safety of the company's workers and processes; exposure to third party and product liability claims; product recalls or other liability claims as a result of food safety and food-borne illness concerns; insufficiency of insurance coverage; war or acts of terror and/or political, economic and military instability in Israel and its region; including the current state of security tension in Israel and the resulting disruptions to the company supply and production chains; filing of class actions and derivative actions against the company, its executives and Board members; current closing of transactions, mergers and acquisitions; and other risk factors discussed under ”Item 3 - Key Information— D. Risk Factors" in the company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 11, 2026 (the Annual Report).

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and except as otherwise required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information or future developments or to release publicly any revisions to these statements, targets or goals in order to reflect later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors are cautioned to consider these risks and uncertainties and to not place undue reliance on such information. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and are subject to risks and uncertainties, and the actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.

Appendix

A rare sanctuary in Congo looks after baby bonobos away from poaching threat

LOLA YA BONOBO, Congo (AP) — Micheline Nzonzi cradled a small and sleepy bonobo, an orphan whose life she will try to save over the next three years or so.

The 1-year-old's chances are good, with motherly affection, milk from a bottle and frequent play with other babies.

“Without me, without us, these bonobos cannot survive,” said Nzonzi, who has been a bonobo foster mother for 24 years. “They survive thanks to human affection.”

This primate nursery on the forested outskirts of the Congolese capital of Kinshasa is the world’s only sanctuary for orphaned bonobos, usually rescued from poachers or found trapped in the homes of locals who raise them for their meat.

Although great apes like the endangered bonobos are legally protected from hunters, they are still targeted to satisfy demand for bushmeat in areas far beyond the Congo Basin, an expansive rain forest that is sometimes called Earth’s second lung. The bushmeat trade ranges from rodents to antelopes, but a totemic ape like the bonobo may fetch a higher price.

“The bonobos are in danger. We are educating people to not kill the bonobos,” said Arsène Madimba, an educator with the Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary. “We can’t kill them, we can’t put them at home as pets, we can’t eat them. Because of poaching, we can find big trading of orphaned bonobos across the country.”

Bonobos raise their babies for four to five years. Their low reproductive cycle means they are vulnerable to environmental disturbances. To protect them and their habitat, Congolese authorities last year broached the idea of issuing “bonobo credits,” similar to carbon credits, to reward communities for preserving forests. The program is yet to take off.

“There is a cultural difference” between Congo and neighboring Uganda, where apes are not hunted for meat, said primatologist Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of the Uganda-based Conservation Through Public Health group. “In Congo, they believe that you can become as strong as (the primate eaten)."

There are dozens of grown bonobos at Lola ya Bonobo. Some have lived there since 2002, when this sanctuary opened under the sponsorship of a conservation nonprofit known by its French name of Les Amis des Bonobos du Congo.

The nursery also has 11 young bonobos, with the most recent arriving earlier this year. Each baby is paired with a foster mother who will look after it for years before it can be transferred to bonobo groups open to visitors.

On rare occasions, an animal at Lola ya Bonobo eventually returns to the wild, which can take years of preparation.

Bonobos share nearly 99% of their DNA with humans and, along with chimpanzees, are our closest living relatives.

In the 1980s, primatologists estimated about 100,000 bonobos were left in the wild. The number is now estimated at roughly 20,000, an astonishing decline. The bonobo is threatened primarily by the commercial bushmeat trade, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The bonobo’s natural habitat is an area of dense equatorial forest south of the Congo River. Bonobos are rarely studied in the wild, and much of what is known about them emerged from studies in foreign zoos and by foreign researchers drawn to a fascinating creature.

The bonobo was first identified as a possibly separate species in 1929, when German anatomist Ernst Schwarz noticed a difference in the skull of a specimen believed to be a grown chimpanzee with an unusually small head. Schwarz’s rival, an American zoologist named Harold Coolidge, later provided detailed descriptions that made it possible in 1933 to classify the bonobo as a separate species.

The bonobo is relatively well-known among Americans, due in part to its reputation as one of the most intelligent, peaceful and empathetic animals. They may even have a capacity for imagination, according to a study published in 2025 by Johns Hopkins University.

Bonobos are led by females and distinguished by their apparent lack of sexual jealousy. When two groups meet, females may switch sides without provoking a fight, unlike chimpanzees and gorillas. They may initiate casual mating, which happens so frequently, so intensely, and with such variety of style that bonobos are described as the “hippie apes.”

In Kinshasa, the trade in primate meat has gone underground. Traders need permits to hunt antelopes and other species, but trading in “les macaques” is prohibited in part to prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases such as Ebola.

“I used to sell monkeys before, but now we cannot sell monkeys, any type of monkeys,” said Charles Ntanga, a vendor at Masina market.

Ntanga wielded a flywhisk to swat flies that settled on the rancid carcass of a giant rodent before him, with a kilogram going for about $17. Guyva Mputu, the vendor next to him, was selling python, whose frozen flesh started to steam in the humid weather.

Baby bonobos captured by poachers are used to lure grown bonobos, which are shot when they come to investigate the noise, said Madimba of Lola ya Bonobo.

Orphaned bonobos build bonds with their caregivers, who often can identify each by name, said zookeeper Frank Lutete, whose role is to feed the animals. He paddled across the water to distribute papaya as the bonobos made a racket, coming down trees to collect his offerings.

Some bonobos thank him, he said, tapping their chests in a gesture of gratitude.

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