SQM Reports Earnings for the Third Quarter of 2012

SQM Reports Earnings for the Third Quarter of 2012 PR Newswire SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 20, 2012 SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A (SQM) (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A) reported today earnings for the first nine months of 2012 of US$507.4 million (US$1.93 per ADR), an increase of 31.2% with respect to the same period of 2011, when earnings totaled US$386.9 million (US$1.47 per ADR). Gross margin reached US$794.3 million (43.4% of revenues), 24.3% higher than the US$638.9 million (39.8% of revenues) recorded during the first nine months of 2011. Revenues totaled US$1,828.2 million for the first nine months, representing an increase of 13.8% over the US$1,606.4 reported in the same period of 2011. The Company also reported quarterly net income of US$165.2 million (US$0.63 per ADR) compared with the 2011 figure of US$143.2 million (US$0.54 per ADR). Third quarter gross margin for 2012 reached US$262.3 million, 8.5% higher than the US$241.7 million recorded for the same period of 2011. Revenues for this quarter totaled US$615.3 million, an increase of approximately 7.1% with respect to the third quarter of 2011, when revenues amounted to US$574.7 million. Patricio Contesse, SQM's Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Following the strong results posted in the first half of 2012, we are pleased to announce our financial results achieved during the third quarter.