ICL Group Ltd (NYSE:ICL) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call February 28, 2024 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Peggy Reilly Tharp – Vice President-Global Investor Relations

Raviv Zoller – Chief Executive Officer

Aviram Lahav – Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Ben Theurer – Barclays

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. And welcome to the ICL Analyst Conference Call. Our presentation today will be followed by a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] I must advise that this call is being recorded today.

I'd like to hand the call over to our first speaker today, Peggy Reilly Tharp, Vice President of Global Investor Relations. Please go ahead, ma’am.

Peggy Reilly Tharp

Thank you. Hello everyone. I'm Peggy Reilly Tharp, Vice President of Global Investor Relations. I'd like to welcome you and thank you for joining us today for our quarterly earnings call. The event is being webcast live on our website at icl-group.com. Earlier today, we filed our reports with the securities authorities and the stock exchanges in the U.S. and in Israel. Those reports as well as the press release are available on our website.

There will be a replay of the webcast available after the meeting, and a transcript will be available shortly thereafter. The presentation, which will be reviewed today, was also filed with the securities authorities and is available on our website. Please be sure to review the disclaimer on Slide 2.

Our comments today will contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. The company undertakes no obligation to update any financial information discussed on this call at any time.

We will begin with the presentation by our CEO, Mr. Raviv Zoller; followed by Mr. Aviram Lahav, our CFO. Following the presentation, we will open the line for the Q&A session. Raviv, please.

Raviv Zoller

Thanks, Peggy, and welcome, everyone. I'd like to begin with a brief update on the situation in Israel. While we continued to face various operational challenges in the fourth quarter which were caused by the war, our efforts to minimize disruption and maintain good production levels were successful. Additionally, the majority of our employees who had been called up for service have now returned to full time work at ICL.

Going forward, we expect the situation in the Red Sea to remain challenging, not only for ICL and other fertilizer and chemical companies, but also for some of the world's largest shipping and oil companies. Annually, almost 15% of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea. However, major shipping companies are now using a much longer route around Southern Africa instead, which is [Technical Difficulty] likely to result in higher costs and higher prices. Throughout 2023, but especially in the fourth quarter, we were able to manage the areas under our control effectively while swiftly reacting to a changing external environment.