FRANKFURT, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The upper end of German potash
miner K+S's SDFGn.DE profit forecast range has become "very
ambitious", Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) quoted
Chief Executive Norbert Steiner as saying.
K+S has so far said it expects its 2015 operating profit to
rise to a range of 780 million to 860 million euros ($886-977
million), from 641 million last year, including costs related to
a since-withdrawn takeover offer by Potash Corp of Saskatchewan
POT.TO .
"The upper end is by now very ambitious, but there is
nothing to quibble about when it comes to range itself. We feel
very comfortable with the forecast," the paper quoted Steiner as
saying.
Potash Corp dropped its offer for K+S on Monday citing a
decline in global commodity and equity markets and a lack of
engagement by K+S management.
Senior K+S executives dismissed the Canadian firm's
41-euro-per-share cash bid - which represented a 59 percent
premium to the volume-weighted average of K+S's share price
during the previous 12 months - as too low and refused to
negotiate.
The withdrawal of the offer sent K+S shares 25 percent
lower, wiping almost 1.5 billion euros off its market value.
"We know this will be a topic at the annual general meeting,
but we did our jobs conscientiously and have nothing to be
afraid of," FAS quoted Steiner as saying, adding that any
investor should be aware of the risks associated with investing
in stocks.
K+S is due to publish quarterly financial results on Nov. 11
and holds its next annual general meeting on May 11, 2016.
($1 = 0.8805 euros)