ICL Group Ltd. (ICL)

ICL reported second-quarter 2026 sales of $2.1 billion on 5 August, up 17 percent from $1.8 billion a year earlier 1.

Operating income was $266 million against $181 million, and net income attributable to shareholders was $137 million against $93 million 1.

The company said prices rose for fertilizer, food and industrial products, while higher raw material costs and currency headwinds kept up the pressure 7.

ICL repeated its 2026 guidance of $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion in adjusted EBITDA, a profit measure the company defines itself 1.

On 4 August the board approved a new structure from 1 January 2027, with four divisions: Growing Solutions, Nutrition Solutions, Industrial Products and Essential Minerals 3.

The open question is the Dead Sea mineral concession, which is due for a new grant in 2030, as Israel has said it plans a competitive process for it 2.

ICL was set up in Israel in 1968 as a government-owned company 2. In 1992 the state sold 20 percent of the shares to the public, and in 1995 it sold its controlling stake of about 24.9 percent to Israel Corp. 2. The shares began trading in New York in September 2014 2.

Sales climbed from $6,955 million in 2021 to $10,015 million in 2022, up 44 percent 6. Prices did most of the work: price added $3,541 million to sales, and the potash price rose by $416 per tonne 6. The filing ties the surge to the war in Ukraine, which cut the supply of grain and fertilizer 6.

Fertilizer prices then fell back from their 2022 and 2023 peaks and steadied through 2024, and sales dropped to $6,841 million that year 2.

In 2025 sales rose 5 percent to $7,153 million, but operating income fell 25 percent to $580 million 2. Higher prices added $298 million to operating income, while raw materials, mainly sulphur, cost $129 million more 2.

The company wrote off or impaired $131 million of assets in 2025, including closed LFP projects and its UK operation 1. It set aside $80 million after a Supreme Court ruling on Dead Sea water fees 1.

The company bought Nitro 1000, a Brazilian maker of biological crop inputs, in February 2024 2. It bought Custom Ag Formulators, a North American maker of customized agriculture products, in July 2024 2. In January 2026 it bought 49.9 percent of Bartek Ingredients, a maker of food-grade malic and fumaric acids 2.

In November 2025 the company published an updated strategy built on three pillars: growth in specialty crop nutrition and specialty food, getting the most from potash, phosphate and bromine, and portfolio and cost improvements 3.

Potash

Potash is a fertilizer ingredient that supplies potassium, one of three main plant nutrients 2. ICL makes it by evaporation at the Dead Sea in Israel and by underground mining in Spain 1.

In the second quarter the segment had sales of $468 million against $383 million and operating income of $85 million against $52 million 1. ICL's potash price was $376 per tonne in the quarter 1.

In June 2026 ICL agreed to supply 375,000 tonnes of potash to IPL, a long-term customer in India, at $383 per tonne 1. Its main rivals include Nutrien, Mosaic, K+S, Belaruskali and Uralkali 2.

Phosphate Solutions

This segment mines phosphate rock in the Negev desert in Israel and in China's Yunnan province, then makes fertilizers and specialty phosphates used in processed meat, drinks, oral care and water treatment 2.

Second-quarter sales were $722 million against $637 million, with specialties at $399 million and commodities at $323 million, and operating income was $80 million against $90 million 1. ICL estimates a worldwide share of about 20 percent in specialty phosphates 2.

Industrial Products (bromine)

ICL is the world's largest maker of elemental bromine, which goes mostly into flame retardants, about 46 percent of global use in 2025, and clear brine fluids, about 22 percent 2. Albemarle and Lanxess are its main rivals 2.

Second-quarter sales were $414 million against $319 million and operating income was $115 million against $54 million 1. Anti-dumping claims by ICL led the EU to impose 63 percent duties and the US 200 percent duties on Chinese TCPP flame retardant imports 2.

Growing Solutions

Growing Solutions sells specialty plant nutrition, including controlled-release and water-soluble fertilizers, biostimulants and adjuvants, to farms and to turf and ornamental growers 1. Second-quarter sales were $605 million against $540 million, and operating income slipped to $32 million from $35 million 1.

During the second quarter ICL began operating a new specialty and water-soluble fertilizer plant in Maharashtra, India 1.

People and shareholders

Elad Aharonson is president and chief executive 1. Asaf Alperovitz signs the company's filings as chief financial officer 4. ICL employs about 12,000 people worldwide 1.

At the annual meeting on 17 September 2026 shareholders re-elected nine directors, including Yoav Doppelt with 99.14 percent of votes, and reappointed Somekh Chaikin (KPMG) as auditor 5. The board declared a dividend of $0.05811 per share, about $75 million, paid on 16 September 2026 4.

The umbrella, in words

ICL works through subsidiaries named for their trade 2. Dead Sea Works and Dead Sea Magnesium sit in Potash, Dead Sea Bromine in Industrial Products, Rotem Amfert Negev in Phosphate Solutions and ICL Haifa in Growing Solutions 2. Iberpotash in Spain and ICL Boulby in the UK are potash subsidiaries 2.

Exhibit 8.1 to the annual report lists its subsidiaries and investees by country, from Israel and Spain to Brazil, China and Germany, and marks some as under liquidation 8. ICL owns 49.9 percent of Bartek Ingredients, bought in January 2026 2.

Israel Corp. held about 43.11 percent of the shares and 43.93 percent of the votes at 31 December 2025 2. Its controlling shareholders include Idan Ofer and Millenium Investments Elad, which holds about 38.28 percent of Israel Corp. 2.

Israel Corp. has pledged about 73 million ICL shares against margin loans of $150 million 2. The State of Israel kept a Special State Share after it stopped holding ordinary shares in 2000 2.

The company expects 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion and potash sales of 4.5 million to 4.7 million tonnes 1.

From 1 January 2027 the company expects its financial statements to report four segments: Growing Solutions, Nutrition Solutions, Industrial Products and Essential Minerals 3.

Its cost program, Elevate, began in the third quarter, and the company expects more than $350 million of annualized savings by the end of 2028, with significant savings starting in early 2027 1.

In specialty food, the company plans to lift sales from about $750 million in 2025 to more than $1.5 billion in 2029 7.

A main project is salt harvesting at the Dead Sea, with the company bearing 80 percent of the cost and the State of Israel 20 percent, capped at NIS 1.4 billion 2.

The Dead Sea concession is due for a new grant in 2030 2. A draft law was published for comment on 3 December 2025, and the terms of the future tender have not been published 2.