Significant rise in Q3 revenues and earnings / Forecast raised for year as a whole

Today (2 November 2010), the Board of Executive Directors of K+S AG prepared the interim financial statements as of 30 September 2010. Because the K+S Group’s third quarter revenues and earnings figures are not only considerably above the corresponding figures for the previous year, but, especially in the Salt business segment, also clearly exceed the existing consensus expectations, significant key financial data for the third quarter are already being released today: Revenues reached € 1,061.2 million (Q3/09: € 698.1 million), operating earnings (EBIT I) € 108.5 million (Q3/09: € 9.4 million), and adjusted earnings after taxes, including non-cash extraordinary interest expenses for mining provisions, € 40.4 million or € 0.21 per share (Q3/09: € (2.1) million or € (0.01) per share).

Conditions on global fertilizer markets have improved continuously and significantly since the beginning of the year; salt markets in Western Europe and in North and South America prove to be stable on a high level. In the earnings forecast for the whole of 2010 issued by the Board of Executive Directors on 5 August 2010, among other things, the international prices of fertilizers at this point in time have been taken into account as usual. Since then, the business environment has undergone a further recovery and prices, especially in the case of potash, have increased so that in the course of its regular internal earnings estimates, the Board of Executive Directors now expects the K+S Group’s operating earnings (EBIT I) to reach € 630-670 million (previously: € 550-600 million).

As planned, the K+S Group will release an overall view of third quarter figures, including a detailed outlook, in its interim report on 11 November 2010.

K+S Aktiengesellschaft
Kassel, 2 November 2010
The Board of Executive Directors

End of the ad hoc disclosure