EANS-News: K+S AG / Very successful start to financial year 2010 Significant recovery in demand for fertilizers and strong salt business cause first quarter earnings to rise substantially

K+S AG / Very successful start to financial year 2010
Significant
recovery in demand for fertilizers and strong salt business cause

first quarter earnings to rise substantially

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quarterly report/Company Information/K+S AG

Subtitle: K+S AG / Very successful start to financial year 2010
Significant recovery in demand for fertilizers and strong salt
business cause first quarter earnings to rise substantially

Kassel (euro adhoc) - Kassel, 11 May 2010

Very successful start to financial year 2010 Significant recovery in
demand for fertilizers and strong salt business cause first quarter
earnings to rise substantially

• Significant rebound in demand in fertilizer business • Salt
Business Segment profits from Morton Salt inclusion and good overall
demand for de-icing salt • Quarterly revenues rose by 43% to EUR 1.5
billion • At EUR 268 million, operating earnings improved
considerably (+54%) • Adjusted earnings per share at EUR 0.92
(Q1/09: EUR 0.74) • Sales forecast in Potash and Magnesium Products
Business Segment raised to a good 6.5 million tonnes of product
(previously: just under 6 million tonnes; 2009: 4.3 million
tonnes) • Significant increase in revenues and earnings for 2010
expected • Significant reduction of indebtedness expected

The K+S Group enjoyed a very successful start to the new financial
year: The significant recovery in demand for fertilizers, a good
overall de-icing salt business, and the inclusion of Morton Salt
caused both revenues and earnings to rise significantly in the first
quarter of 2010.

"In the first few months of the new year, higher demand for
fertilizers has largely been due to a backlog demand at the trade
level. Meanwhile, it can be observed that the European
agricultural sector has called up a significant amount of the
quantities demanded by trade," said Norbert Steiner, Chairman of
the Board of Executive Directors of K+S Aktiengesellschaft.
"Against this backdrop, we have raised the sales volume forecast for
the Potash and Magnesium Products Business Segment. Together with
the good de-icing salt business in the first quarter and the
inclusion of Morton Salt for the whole year, revenues and earnings
of the K+S Group should once again increase significantly in
2010," continued Steiner.

First quarter revenues up substantially At EUR 1,533.6 million, K+S
Group revenues for the quarter were about 43% up year-on-year. The
increase in the Potash and Magnesium Products and Nitrogen
Fertilizers Business Segments can mainly be attributed to
significantly higher sales volumes. Thanks to the consolidation of
Morton Salt and the good overall de-icing salt business, the Salt
Business Segment managed to far exceed the revenues of the same
period in the previous year.

With a share of 40% in total revenues, the Salt Business Segment
posted the highest revenues of all the K+S Group´s Business
Segments, followed by the Potash and Magnesium Products
Business Segment (32%) and the Nitrogen Fertilizers Business
Segment (25%). About 55% of total revenues was generated in Europe
(previous year: 60%) and 45% overseas (previous year: 40%).

Operating earnings rise by 54% to just under EUR 268 million At EUR
267.7 million, first quarter operating earnings (EBIT I)
were significantly up on the figure for the same quarter in the
previous year (EUR 174.0 million). The Potash and Magnesium
Products and Nitrogen Fertilizers Business Segments were able to
considerably improve their earnings due to a higher demand in
fertilizers.

Primarily due to the consolidation of Morton Salt, the Salt
Business Segment achieved significant earnings growth. In the first
quarter, the effects of the inclusion on EBIT I amounted to EUR
32.4 million. Moreover, related to Morton Salt, one-time effects
from the revaluation and consolidation within the framework of
the inventory measurement according to IFRS (EUR 12.0 million) and
write-downs on the value adjustments to be made within the
framework of purchase price allocation (EUR 16.2 million) weighed
on earnings. Additionally, esco´s earnings in Europe were adversely
affected by one-time effects in France and the Netherlands (about
EUR 21 million).

Adjusted earnings also up significantly year-on-year Adjusted
earnings before taxes in the first quarter totalled EUR 237.5
million and were therefore up about 43% on the figure for the
same period in the previous year. Group earnings after taxes and
adjustments reached EUR 175.8 million (+44%), after having been EUR
122.5 million one year before. (Details of the adjustment process
can be found in the quarterly financial report Q1/2010, pages
11-12.)

Outlook for 2010: Significant revenue and earnings increase expected
In the first quarter, demand for potash and magnesium products
was mainly supported by the need of the trade sector to once
again increase their low inventories in preparation for the spring
season in Europe. In the meantime, it has become clear that the
volumes demanded by the trade sector were also used by farmers in
Europe. Against this backdrop, global potash sales volumes in
2010 as a whole will probably increase to between 45 and 50
million tonnes (previous forecast: about 45 million tonnes; 2009: 32
million tonnes) and sales volumes in the Potash and Magnesium
Products Business Segment will rise to a good 6.5 million tonnes
of product (previous forecast: just under 6 million tonnes;
2009: 4.3 million tonnes). On this basis, and considering the
available production capacity of just under 8 million tonnes of
potash and magnesium products, a fractional production cutback in
the second half of the year is likely. Based on current potash
prices, a significantly lower average price level than in the
previous year is, however, expected. Therefore, 2010 revenues of the
Potash and Magnesium Products Business Segment should increase
tangibly in comparison to one year ago. In the Nitrogen Fertilizers
Business Segment, sales are likely to increase significantly.
Significant revenue growth is also expected for the Salt Business
Segment. As a result of the first-time inclusion of Morton Salt for
an entire year, a consolidation effect of over EUR 500 million is
anticipated.

For the financial year of 2010, K+S Group revenues are therefore
likely to increase significantly in comparison to the previous year.

There should be significantly higher operating earnings EBIT
I for the financial year 2010 in comparison to last year´s figure.
This is in connection to the aforementioned consolidation effect in
the Salt Business Segment, the incipient turnaround in earnings
in the Nitrogen Fertilizers Business Segment, and the expected
increase in earnings in the Potash and Magnesium Products
Business Segment.

The adjusted Group earnings after taxes should also be significantly
higher in 2010 in line with the development of operating earnings.

Significant reduction of indebtedness expected With a net debt
(including non-current provisions) of currently EUR 1,048.6
million and a level of indebtedness of 44.1%, and as a result of high
operating and free cash flows expected this year, the K+S Group has
a strong financial base. Against the background of the anticipated
development in earnings, the level of financial debt should
decline significantly in comparison to the previous year.
Subjects to these conditions, the K+S Group will, in all
likelihood, also achieve capital structure targets with an equity
ratio of more than 40% and a level of indebtedness of under 50% in
2010.

Experience growth The K+S Group is one of the world's leading
suppliers of standard and speciality fertilizers. In the salt
business, measured by production capacity, K+S, with sites in
Europe as well as North and South America, is the world´s leading
producer. K+S offers a comprehensive range of goods and services
for agriculture, industry, and private consumers which
provides growth opportunities in virtually every sphere of daily
life. The K+S Group employs more than 15,000 people. The K+S
share - the only commodities stock on the German DAX index - is
listed on all German stock exchanges (ISIN: DE0007162000, symbol:
SDF). For additional information on K+S please visit
www.k-plus-s.com.

Note to editors

The financial report for the 1st quarter of 2010 and the video webcast of
Norbert Steiner, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of K+S
Aktiengesellschaft, are available at www.k-plus-s.com.

Today´s Annual General Meeting of K+S Aktiengesellschaft will be transmitted on
the internet at www.k-plus-s.com until the end of the speech by the Chairman of
the Board of Executive Directors. The speech and the presentation will be

available at 10:00 a.m. CET.

Current image material relating to the K+S Group can be downloaded
from our website. Photos of today´s Annual General Meeting are
available on the internet at www.k-plus-s.com as of 11:00 a.m. CET.

We are offering a conference call in English on 12 May 2010 at 3:00
p.m. CET. Representatives of the press, shareholders, investors and
all other interested parties are invited to follow the conference
via a live webcast at www.k-plus-

s.com. The conference is being recorded and will also be available as a
podcast.

Contact:

Press:
Michael Wudonig
Phone: +49 561 9301-1262
Fax: +49 561 9301-1666
michael.wudonig@k-plus-s.com

Investor Relations:
Christian Herrmann
Phone: +49 561 9301-1460
Fax: +49 561 9301-2425
christian.herrmann@k-plus-s.com

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains facts and forecasts that relate to
the future development of the K+S Group and its companies. The
forecasts are estimates that we have made on the basis of all the
information available to us at this moment in time. Should the
assumptions underlying these forecasts prove not to be correct or
risks - such as those described in the risk report - arise,
actual developments and events may deviate from those expected at
the present time. Outside the legally prescribed regulations on
publication, the Company is under no obligation to update the
statements included in this press release.

|K+S Group at a Glance | | | | | | |
|Q1/2010 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|All figures in accordance with | |Q1 | |Q1 | | |
|IFRS | | | | | | |
| | | |Jan.-March | |Jan.-Marc| | |
| | | | | |h | | |
| | | |2010 | |2009 | |Change |
| | | |EUR milion | |EUR million| |in % |
| | | | | | | | |
|Revenues | |1,533.6 | |1,075.7 | |+42.6 |
| | | | | | | | |
| |Potash and Magnesium | |498.4 | |366.0 | |+36.2 |
| |Products | | | | | | |
| |Nitrogen Fertilizers | |385.5 | |342.1 | |+12.7 |
| |Salt | |616.4 | |338.3 | |+82.2 |
| |Complementary Business | |33.3 | |29.1 | |+14.4 |
| |Segments | | | | | | |
| |Reconciliation | |0.1 | |0.2 | |(50.0) |
| | | | | | | | |
|Operating earnings (EBIT I) | |267.7 | |174.0 | |+53.9 |
| | | | | | | | |
| |Potash and Magnesium | |150.6 | |97.0 | |+55.3 |
| |Products | | | | | | |
| |Nitrogen Fertilizers | |14.5 | |8.1 | |+79.0 |
| |Salt | |107.9 | |80.2 | |+34.5 |
| |Complementary Business | |6.4 | |2.0 | |+220.0 |
| |Segments | | | | | | |
| |Reconciliation | |(11.7) | |(13.3) | |- |
| | | | | | | | |
|Earnings after operating |262.9 | |152.9 | |+71.9 |
|hedging transactions (EBIT II) | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Financial result | |(30.2) | |(8.4) | |- |
| | | | | | | |
|Earnings before income taxes | |232.7 | |144.5 | |+61.0 |
| | | | | | | | |
|Earnings before income taxes, | |237.5| |165.6 | |+43.4 |
|adjusted1) | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Group earnings after taxes | |172.3 | |107.3 | |+60.6 |
| | | | | | | | |
|Group earnings after taxes, adjusted1)| |175.8| |122.5 | |+43.5 |
| | | | | | | | |
|Earnings per share, adjusted (EUR)1)|0.92 | |0.74 | |+24.3 |
| | | | | | | | |
|Capital expenditure2) | |27.3 | |29.1 | |(6.2) |
| | | | | | | |
|Employees as of 31 March (number),| |15,164 | |12,334 | |+22.9 |
| |of which trainees (number) | |519 | |516 | |+0.6 |
|1) The adjusted key figures only contain the earnings actually realised |
|on operating forecast hedges for the respective reporting period. The |
|changes in market value of operating forecast hedges still outstanding, |
|however, are not taken into account in the adjusted earnings. Any |
|resulting effects on deferred and cash taxes are also eliminated; tax |
|rate Q1/10: 27.9% (Q1/09: 27.9%). |
|2) Cash-effective investments in or depreciation on property, plant and |
|equipment, intangible assets. |

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: K+S Aktiengesellschaft
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Press:

Michael Wudonig

Phone: +49 561 9301-1262

Fax: +49 561 9301-1666

michael.wudonig@k-plus-s.com

Investor Relations:

Christian Herrmann

Phone: +49 561 9301-1460

Fax: +49 561 9301-2425

christian.herrmann@k-plus-s.com

Branche: Chemicals
ISIN: DE0007162000
WKN: 716200
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