Romania’s Azomures first-quarter net profit doubles to €10.8m

12 May 2011 15:12  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Azomures saw its first-quarter net profit approximately double to Romania New Lei 44.1m ($15.3m, €10.8m) on improved demand for fertilizers, the Romanian producer said on Thursday.

Sales revenues for the quarter stood at New Lei 408.3m, an increase of 44% year-on-year, it added.

On the downside, Azomures said raw materials expenses rose 88% year-on-year to New Lei 246m because the government introduced a policy which meant fertilizer producers lost their right to solely purchase domestically produced gas, which is considerably cheaper than imported gas.

Competitor InterAgro has closed six fertilizer units in Romania, claiming that the policy meant there was no prospect of any profitability in the fertilizer sector. The move cost around 6,000 jobs.

The operating profit of Azomures was New Lei 88.9m, around four times what was recorded in the first quarter of last year.

Azomures produces ammonium nitrate (AN), calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), urea, complex nitrogen phosphorous potassium (NPK) fertilizers and melamine.

The company is 55% owned by Turkey’s Transworld Fertilizers Holding.

($1 = New Lei 2.88, €1 = New Lei 4.09)

By: Will Conroy
+44 20 8652 3214

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