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Acron Group’s Commercial Output Up 6% in 9M 2021

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

Mineral fertilisers

Product, '000 t 9M 2021
9M 2020
YOY, %
Ammonia 2,164
2,071
4.5
Incl. in-house consumption 2,113
1,980
Nitrogen fertilisers, including 3,750
3,634
3.2
Incl. in-house consumption 689
562
AN 1,638
1,826
-10.3
Incl. in-house consumption 232
170
Urea 1,050 887
18.4
Incl. in-house consumption 456
391
Incl. prilled urea  273
381
-28.5
Incl. in-house consumption 15
11
 
Incl. granulated urea  364
145
150.5
Incl. in-house consumption 27
19
 
UAN 1,061
921
15.2
Complex fertilisers, including 1,945
1,747
11.4
Incl. in-house consumption 40
27
NPK 1,798
1,663
8.1
Incl. in-house consumption 40
27
Bulk blends 147
84
75.4
Total commercial output for Mineral Fertilisers 5,017
4,884
2.7

Industrial products

Product, '000 t 9M 2021 9M 2020 YOY, %
Organic Compounds, including 367
307
19.3
Incl. in-house consumption 191
155
Methanol 81
71
13.9
Incl. in-house consumption 71
57
Formalin 132
110
19.8
Incl. in-house consumption 117
96
Urea-formaldehyde resins 154
127
22.0
Incl. in-house consumption 4
2
Non-organic compounds, including 890
757
17.5
Low-density and technical-grade AN 368
246
49.3
Industrial urea 120
92
31.4
Calcium carbonate 353
373
-5.4
Liquid carbon dioxide 44
41
7.6
Argon 5
5
-3.7
Total commercial output for Industrial Products 1,066
909
17.2

Phosphate inputs

Product, '000 t 9M 2021     9M 2020 YOY, %
Apatite concentrate 936
848
10.3
Incl. in-house consumption 704
684
Total commercial output for apatite concentrate 232
164
41.4
TOTAL COMMERCIAL OUTPUT

6,315
5,957
6.0
 Note: Commercial output is output less in-house consumption.


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

‘In 9M 2021, Acron Group set a new output record. In the reporting period, the Group produced 6,315,000 tonnes of commercial products, up 6% year-on-year. Mineral fertiliser output was up 3% to 5,017,000 tonnes.

‘The strong demand we are seeing as the global economy recovers from the COVID-19 crisis requires that we be as focused and efficient as possible. While some producers are experiencing difficulties with logistics and feedstock supply, Acron Group sees providing farmers with fertilisers as the key objective for the entire system of food production.

‘In this context, the Urea-6+ project, which significantly boosted our output of this world’s most popular fertiliser, appears to be perfectly aligned with the market’s needs. Since August, the unit has been operating at increased capacity, and the results are visible, with output of agricultural urea up 18% year-on-year. It is important for us that the project is in line with Acron’s ESG principles: the upgraded operations include a cutting-edge unit for wastewater fine treatment, which significantly reduces our environmental impact. And because we use СО2 to produce urea, the Urea-6+ project helps decrease our carbon dioxide emissions by more than 350,000 tonnes per annum.

‘Demand is strong in the industrial segment as well. The Group boosted its output of industrial products by 17% to 1,066,000 tonnes. Apatite concentrate output increased 10% to 936,000 tonnes.

‘Prices continue to head upward, but major Russian fertiliser producers froze their key fertiliser prices for domestic farmers in July 2021 through the end of the autumn agricultural season. In October, the voluntary price freeze was extended through the end of 2021’.

Market Trends

In Q3 2021, global urea prices continued to climb. The FOB Baltic price approached USD 600 by the end of the quarter, reaching in October a post-2008 high of USD 700. This pricing trend was fuelled by Chinese government actions limiting urea exports, an energy crisis in Europe that led several producers to suspend operations, high grain prices, recovering demand for industrial urea, and active fertiliser purchases by India and Brazil.

In early October, the FOB Baltic price of AN hit USD 450, another post-2008 record. UAN prices set a historical record of USD 600. These upward price trends were supported by higher urea prices, which serve as a benchmark for other nitrogen fertilisers.

NPK prices were on the rise as well in Q3 2021, supported by a similar pricing trend for the basic product basket (urea, DAP, and potassium chloride). The NPK 16-16-16 premium over the basic product basket was 15%.

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

Q3 2021 Q2 2021    Q3 2020      Q3 2021 / 
Q2 2021  
change
Q3 2021 / 
Q3 2020  
change
NPK 16-16-16 425
353
253
20%
68%
AN
309
245
162
26%
91%
UAN 306
250
114
22%
168%
Urea 445
359
231
24%
93%
Ammonia 578
462
186
25%
210%