Frequently asked questions on the K+S Group!

Our roots lie in the products "Kali" (Potash) and "Salz" (Salt). Our former name, Kali und Salz AG, reflected this. The subsequent evolution of the company into a diversified supplier meeting application needs for a very wide range of fields in agriculture and industry, the emergence of the new business segment Nitrogen fertilizers as well the extensive know-how that we possess in the waste management business mean that much more than Kali and Salz is involved today. That is what is behind the name "K+S Aktiengesellschaft" or "K+S Group".

The K+S Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of standard and speciality fertilizers. The Potash and Magnesium Products business segment is the world’s fifth-largest and the largest European producer of potash and magnesium products and, in 2010, had an approximately 10% share in the global sales volumes of potash. In the Nitrogen Fertilizers Business Segment we are with K+S Nitrogen among the leading suppliers in Europe. K+S Nitrogen is one of the world’s leading suppliers of the sulphur-containing nitrogen fertilizer ammonium sulphate. In the Salt business segment, K+S is the leading salt supplier worldwide: esco is the biggest salt supplier in Europe offering products for a wide range of applications, the Chilean SPL is the No. 1 in South America and one of the leading suppliers of de-icing salt in the U.S.; Morton Salt is one of the leading Salt suppliers in North America. Waste Management and Recycling as well as Services and Trading are further sectors in which we operate. You can find out more about the different business segments by clicking on the following link

• Potash and Magnesium Products
• Nitrogen Fertilizers
• Salt
• Complementary Business Segments

K+S offers an extensive and diverse range of products, services and solutions. Please visit our products page.

The business and Magnesium Products business segment extracts potash and magnesium crude salts at six mines in Germany, wich are further processed there to create end products or intermediate products. In addition, there is one more processing site in Germany and four more in France. The Salt busines segment has production sites in Germany, Western Europe, South America and North America. Furthermore, we are represented worldwide in all the markets that are important for us through own distribution companies.

A list of our affiliates as of the end of 2011 can be found in the Financial Report 2011 on pages 211 or under the following link:

List of affiliates

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As of 31 March 2012, the K+S Group employed a total of 14,482 persons. In comparison to 31 March 2011 (14,173 employees), the number has increased by 309 employees, or around 2%; this is above all due to an increase in personnel in the Potash and Magnesium Products business segment in order to maintain the volume of crude salt extracted and for increased activities in the area of environmental protection as well as for the Legacy Project. In terms of the average for the quarter, 14,485 employees were employed; this is also a slight increase of about 2% as compared to the previous year’s quarter (Q1/11: 14,196). As a consequence of the increased internationalisation of the K+S Group since 2006, in the meanwhile, almost one third of our employees are located outside Germany, and more than a quarter outside Europe.

The number of trainees in Germany was 504 as of 31 March 2012 and thus again above the already high level of the previous year (31 March 2011: 496)

Yes. Our employees are the cornerstone of our success. They are able to participate in our business success in a variety of ways:

• Employees covered by collective pay agreements receive an agreed annual bonus which, in the potash and salt business segments, will paid out in November and amount to 75% of a monthly basic salary. In the COMPO and fertiva business segments, a bonus of 95% has been paid on the basis of the collective pay agreement for chemical workers. In addition, all employees covered by collective pay agreements will receive a performance-related payment in May of the following year, calculated on the basis of the cashflow result of the previous fiscal year.
• The issuance of employee shares at a price discount. 
• A remuneration model that assesses and appropriately rewards personal performance in relation to agreed benchmarks as well as company success and applies to employees that are not covered by collective agreements.

The financial year begins on 1 January and ends on 31 December.

The consolidated financial statements and interim reports will be prepared under observance of internationally recognized accounting principles (IFRSs) for the first time in relation to financial year 2005.

You can order the current Financial Report here.

You can find out about the next dates here. However, we cannot provide any information that has not been released in advance.