China’s potash fertilizer industry leaders—Zangge Mining, Dongfang Tieta, and Salt Lake Co.—have delivered impressive performance reports for the third quarter of 2025, with their combined net profits expected to exceed 7.8 billion yuan, driven by strong global potash prices and optimized operations.
Among them, Salt Lake Co., the domestic potash production leader, topped the list with a projected net profit of 4.3 billion to 4.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 36.89% to 49.62%. Its third-quarter net profit alone is estimated at 1.8 billion to 2.2 billion yuan, surpassing market expectations and surging 93.77% to 136.83% compared to the same period last year. In its financial report, the company attributed the growth to rising potassium chloride prices year-over-year, which boosted profitability in this segment.
Strong Potash Prices Drive Outstanding Performance
“This year, the potash market has shown strength since the beginning, and although there was a slight adjustment in the third quarter, the overall price level is about 30% higher than last year,” said a relevant person in charge of a potash fertilizer company in Shandong.
A research report from Everbright Securities pointed out that the closure and maintenance of several potash mines in Russia and Belarus have led to a contraction in global potassium chloride supply. Coupled with seasonal demand growth in major agricultural regions such as Southeast Asia and Latin America, the global potassium chloride supply and demand have continued to tighten, causing prices to rise steadily since the end of 2024.
According to Wind data, the ex-factory price of Qinghai Salt Lake potassium chloride (60% powder) was 2,550 yuan per ton at the end of 2024, rising to 3,200 yuan per ton by mid-July this year, and has since remained around 3,100 yuan per ton.
The strong rise in potassium chloride prices has become a key driver for the profit growth of potash fertilizer companies.
As the domestic potash production leader, Salt Lake Co.’s performance has been particularly outstanding. Financial report data shows that Salt Lake Co. is expected to achieve a net profit attributable to shareholders of 4.3 billion to 4.7 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 36.89% to 49.62%. The net profit for the third quarter alone is projected to reach 1.8 billion to 2.2 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase soaring to 93.77% to 136.83%, far exceeding market expectations.
During the reporting period, the company’s potassium chloride output was about 3.2662 million tons, with sales of about 2.8609 million tons. Despite the impact of declining lithium carbonate prices, the potash market boom still supported the company’s performance reversal.
Zangge Mining delivered steady results with its diversified layout of “potash fertilizer + lithium salt + copper mine.” According to its financial report, the net profit attributable to shareholders in the first three quarters of 2025 reached 2.75 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 47.26%. The net cash flow from operating activities was 1.34 billion yuan, a significant year-on-year increase of 118.88%. The “volume and price rise” in the potash fertilizer business was the core support.
In the first three quarters of 2025, Zangge Mining sold 783,800 tons of potassium chloride, a year-on-year increase of 9.62%. The average selling price was 2,919.81 yuan per ton, a year-on-year increase of 26.88%. The gross profit margin increased by 20.78 percentage points year-on-year, rising to 63.46%.
Dongfang Tieta, focused on the potash fertilizer business, also saw significant performance growth driven by market conditions. The company expects a net profit attributable to shareholders of 750 million to 900 million yuan in the first three quarters of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 60.83% to 93%. The growth rate further accelerated in the third quarter, with a year-on-year increase of 36.7% to 116.5%.
Regarding the reasons for performance growth, Dongfang Tieta stated that during the reporting period, the company’s potash fertilizer production lines operated stably, and the market price of potassium chloride products increased compared to the same period last year, leading to a substantial improvement in overall operating performance.
“State-Backed” Enterprises Intensively Enter, Industry Concentration Significantly Improves
Looking back at the development history of China’s potash fertilizer industry, each step has been filled with breakthroughs and exploration.
In the 1950s, the international community generally believed that “China is poor in potassium,” but the country did not give up. During the “First Five-Year Plan” period, it initiated potash ore prediction work, and in 1956, salt lake potash exploration was included in the 12-year national major science and technology long-term plan.
After decades of hard work by generations of researchers, from the Qarhan Salt Lake in the Qaidam Basin of Qinghai to the Lop Nur region in Xinjiang, large and super-large potash deposits were successively discovered. The systematic advancement of potash exploration in the Qaidam Basin after 1985 and the major discovery of potash resources in Lop Nur during the “Eighth Five-Year Plan” period completely rewrote the history of China having no usable potassium.
In recent years, as the international situation has undergone dramatic changes, the pace of consolidation in the domestic potash fertilizer industry has accelerated. Especially since 2025, three “state-backed” enterprises have successively entered the potash fertilizer sector, becoming a key force reshaping the industry landscape.
