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Acron Group’s Commercial Output Up 1% in Q1 2020

  Group’s Consolidated Output (including operating results for Acron, Dorogobuzh and North-Western Phosphorous Company)

Mineral fertilisers

Product, '000 t Q1 2020 Q1 2019 YOY, %
Ammonia 677 681 -0.6
Incl. in-house consumption * 634
592
Nitrogen fertilisers 1,114 1,242 -10.3
Incl. in-house consumption 170 286
AN 604 501 20.7
Incl. in-house consumption 53 108
Urea 245 315 -22.3
Incl. in-house consumption 117 178
UAN 265 426 -37.7
Complex fertilisers: 618 610 1.3
Incl. in-house consumption 9 10
NPK 590 574 2.9
Incl. in-house consumption 9 10
Bulk blends 28 37 -23.8
Total commercial output for Mineral Fertilisers 1,596 1,645 -3.0

Industrial products

Product, '000 t Q1 2020 Q1 2019 YOY, %
Organic Synthesis Products 112 124 -9.3
Incl. in-house consumption 55 63
Methanol 27 27 1.1
Incl. in-house consumption 20 23
Formalin 40 45 -11.7
Incl. in-house consumption 35 40
Urea-formaldehyde resins 45 52 -12.6
 Incl. in-house consumption 1          0  
Non-organic compounds 249 196 27.2
Low-density and technical-grade ammonium nitrate 78 49 59.3
Industrial urea 45 29 56.1
Calcium carbonate 113 106 6.8
Liquid carbon dioxide 12 10 11.8
Argon 2 2 -13.4
Total commercial output for Industrial Products 306 256 19.3

Phosphate inputs

Product, '000 t Q1 2020 Q1 2019 YOY, %
Apatite concentrate 256 258 -1.0
Incl. in-house consumption 209 223
Total commercial output for Apatite Concentrate 47 35 33.9
TOTAL COMMERCIAL OUTPUT

1,948 1,936 0.6
Note: Commercial output is output less in-house consumption.

Comments from Chairman of Acron’s Board of Directors Alexander Popov:

“In the first quarter of 2020, Acron Group increased output of its main commercial products to a record high of 1,948,000 tonnes, up 1% year-on-year.
 
Ammonia output decreased 1% to 677,000 tonnes, while its processing into finished products increased 7% and set a new record of 634,000 tonnes.

“Because our operations are flexible, we adjusted the final product structure to increase our output of premium products. In the reporting quarter, prices for UAN liquid fertiliser were the weakest among all nitrogen fertilisers, so we focused on manufacturing technical-grade AN, NPK, and industrial-purpose urea. As a result, mineral fertiliser output decreased 3%, while output of commercial products surged 19%”.

Market Trends

In Q1 2020, global urea prices recovered after a setback in the second half of 2019. Baltic prices, which sank to USD 210 in late 2019, rose to USD 230 towards the end of Q1, driven by strong demand from countries in the northern hemisphere, in particular the United States, in advance of the sowing season, as well as by decreased Chinese exports due to logistics issues caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. In April, India renewed active purchases of urea, and the United States is maintaining strong demand. However, between May and October, the nitrogen fertiliser market usually faces low-season demand which prevents prices from growing further. In addition, such factors as lower global gas prices and weaker currencies in developing countries also put pressure on the nitrogen fertiliser market.

Supported by recovering urea prices and a strong Russian market, AN prices also regained momentum in Q1 2020, while UAN prices continued to spiral down. NPK prices remained relatively stable amid higher prices for nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers and lower prices for potash fertilisers. However, since NPK prices declined in the previous quarter, average prices in Q1 2020 were lower compared to Q4 2019.

Currently, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a minor impact on the mineral fertiliser industry in terms of demand and supply, since food security is among the top priorities of governments worldwide. At the same time, the industry is facing certain logistics challenges due to new restrictions, but these issues can be dealt with because of the sector’s priority status.

Due to lockdown measures in some countries, consumers of our industrial products are facing a shortage of manpower and production interruption or curtailment. For instance, demand for industrial-purpose urea and AN has fallen noticeably, but at this point it is not significant and does not affect the Group’s capacity utilisation.

The slump in oil prices this March and April could have a detrimental effect on fertiliser consumption in the biofuel segment.

Average Indicative Prices, USD/t, FOB Baltic/Black Sea

Q1 2020 Q4 2019 Q1 2019 Q1 2020 / 
Q4 2019  
change
Q1 2020 / 
Q1 2019  
change
NPK 16-16-16 252 270 312 -6.7% -19.2%
AN 187 179 182 4.9% 3.0%
UAN 123 137 178 -10.4% -30.8%
Urea 217 216 243 0.5% -10.4%
Ammonia 222 225 276 -1.4% -19.4%