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As a result of the rapid spread of the coronavirus in Germany, K+S will not be able to hold the Annual General Meeting of the Company planned for 12 May 2020 in Kassel.

K+S will completely sell the Operating Unit Americas, in which the North and South American salt business is bundled. A sales agreement (signing) is expected before the end of this year. With the accompanying focus on the core business with mineral fertilizers and specialties, the Company will continue to pursue the ongoing increases in efficiency and productivity. Future-oriented solutions in the environmental area are just as much the focus of our work.

The Merkers Adventure Mine of the K+S Group continues to enjoy great popularity 29 years after its foundation. Today, the two millionth visitor entered the former potash mine in the Wartburg region. Located in the heart of the Werra potash region, it offers the opportunity to gain a first-hand impression of potash mining in the past and present, in addition to attractions that are unparalleled worldwide.

In order to improve the ecological condition of waters and natural areas, K+S, Thuringia Forest, and the renowned Thuringian nature conservation associations “Verband für Angeln und Naturschutz” (VANT) and “Arbeitsgruppe Artenschutz” (AAT) have concluded a cooperation agreement. As the first joint project, the floating island in the Hautsee near Bad Salzungen (Wartburg district) will be restored to its natural state.

K+S sold its Group company K+S Entsorgung (Schweiz) AG to the Swiss-based Thommen-Furler Group. The selling price is in the lower single-digit million euro range. The sale of the company is related to the package of measures adopted on December 10, 2019 to quickly generate value and reduce indebtedness.

Preventing crop failures by using a smartphone to detect a plant's nutrient deficiency at an early stage: The Agricultural Nutrient Assistant (ANA) from Spacenus is designed to support farmers in fertilizing plants according to their needs. K+S and Spacenus, a start-up company based in Darmstadt, have agreed to work closely together in developing this digital technology in the area of precision farming.

The sustainable and predictable disposal of saline wastewater is an indispensable prerequisite for the continuation of potash production in the Werra region. From 2022, K+S plans to discharge highly concentrated wastewater into the old mining area of the Springen mine (Wartburg district). After more than 90 years, it will therefore be possible to discontinue the injection into the plate dolomite, to remediate a former mining site and also to make further progress in reducing the environmental burden on the Werra river.

Over the past several months, K+S has made significant progress with the implementation of Shaping 2030 projects. Despite the progress made, the current difficult external conditions are hampering the achievement of the financial targets. K+S has therefore developed a package of measures to crystallize value rapidly in order to reduce indebtedness.

K+S and the leading pan-African fintech company MFS Africa have partnered in a joint venture to invest in Akorion, an agricultural innovation company in Uganda. The main goal is to further expand Akorion’s digital platform EzyAgric. This technology gives smallholders in Africa significantly better market access and at the same time efficient processes throughout the whole value chain for agricultural products.

Growing population figures, climate change, and globally changing consumer behavior are increasingly focusing on sustainable food security as a pressing challenge of our time. It is essential to forge alliances between industry, research and the start-up scene, and to promote innovative business models. At the invitation of K+S, Dr. Bernd Althusmann, Minister of Economics, Labor, Transportation, and Digitalization of Lower Saxony, as well as other stakeholders from politics, science and business as well as start-up companies met today at the K+S Sigmundshall site near Hanover. At the same time, the event marked the starting signal for the build-up of the new K+S Innopark in Sigmundshall.