Santiago, Chile. August 27, 2013.- Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) (NYSE: SQM; Santiago Stock Exchange: SQM-B, SQM-A) reported today earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2013 of US$259.2 million (US$0.98 per ADR), a decrease from US$342.2 million (US$1.30 per ADR) for the six months ended June 30, 2012. Gross Marginreached US$426.7 million (35.9% of revenues) for the six months ended June 30, 2013, lower than US$531.9 million (43.9% of revenues) recorded for the six months ended June 30, 2012.  Revenues totaled US$1,189.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013, representing a decrease of 1.9% compared to US$1,213.0 million reported for the six months ended June 30, 2012.

The Company also announced earnings for the second quarter of 2013, reporting net income of US$107.4 million (US$0.41 per ADR) compared to US$192.2 million (US$0.73 per ADR) for the second quarter of 2012. Gross Margin for the second quarter of 2013 reached US$187.8 million, lower than the US$295.7 million recorded for the second quarter of 2012. Revenues totaled US$566.5 million, a decrease of approximately 17.1% compared to the second quarter of 2012, when revenues amounted to US$683.3 million.

SQM’s Chief Executive Officer, Patricio Contesse, stated, “We saw higher revenues in our SPN business line and similar revenues in our Potassium business line during the first half of the year, when compared to the first half of 2012. As anticipated, fertilizer prices declined when compared to the first half of 2012, but we were able to partially offset lower prices with higher sales volumes in both the SPN and Potassium business lines. We remain vigilant in the potassium market particularly in light of recent announcements by Uralkali to increase production and sales volumes in the future. This announcement could have a negative impact on potash prices. As you may know, we are a minor player in this market, and our sales represent less than 3% of world demand; we have no influence over international prices of this product.”

“Even though iodine prices were relatively stable and lithium prices were higher compared to the same period last year, SQM sales volumes were lower than expected in both business lines for the first half of the year. In both the lithium and iodine markets, demand has remained robust and has been higher than last year; however sales volumes from competitors have been higher than expected. Research and development for new uses and applications in the iodine and lithium market remains strong.”

Mr. Contesse continued, “The markets for all of our main business lines have been growing, and it is expected that all of our major businesses – potassium, SPN, lithium, and iodine – will see increased demand in 2013 when compared to 2012. We will maintain our long-term management approach in all of our business lines, and remain focused on maximizing margins and shareholder value. We are positioned to capture value in many ways; similar processes and industrial technologies are used across multiple operations, access to raw materials that are used in the production of several different products. We have also invested in metal exploration in recent years. We have signed various agreements with different companies who are engaging in exploration within our mining assets in the north of Chile. Many of these agreements encompass a portion of northern Chile’s Iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) belt. This exploration could offer some diverse value in years to come.”