Acron Group’s Output Up 6% in 2021

‘Acron Group set a new record in 2021, ramping up commercial output 6% year-on-year to 8.5 million tonnes and outstripping the target set a year ago. As a key milestone in 2021 we can name completed Urea-6+ project that brought urea output to record 1.6 million tonnes.

‘Looking forward, we want to use the upward momentum of mineral fertiliser prices in 2021 and both accelerate ongoing investment projects and kick off new ones.

‘Upgrades to ammonia units 2 and 3 and urea units 1 through 4 are underway at Acron’s Novgorod-based site. We plan to complete these projects in 2023, which will boost ammonia capacity by 375 ktpa and urea capacity by 390 ktpa. At the same time, we will construct a second urea granulation unit.

‘In 2022, we plan to complete construction of a 100-ktpa calcium nitrate unit. We are undertaking production of this new water-soluble fertiliser in response to client demand around the world.

‘The Dorogobuzh site will see technical upgrades at its ammonia unit and the completion of a new nitric acid unit, which will result in a higher ammonium nitrate output and allow us to increase supplies to the domestic market, where this nitrogen fertiliser is traditionally popular. ‘We expect the Group’s commercial output to reach 8.7 million tonnes in 2022’.

Performance Analysis

In 2021, Acron Group’s total commercial output was up 6% to 8,485,000 tonnes. This increase was mainly due to a number of investment projects implemented at the Group’s Novgorod-based site in the recent years, including construction of a urea granulation unit in mid-2020, a capacity increase at the Ammonia-4 unit in late 2020, and a comprehensive overhaul of the Urea-6 unit in 2021. These efforts boosted output of nitrogen mineral fertilisers, industrial urea, and ammonium nitrate.

The Group’s mineral fertiliser output was up 5% to 6,765,000 tonnes last year. Industrial product output increased 14% to 1,415,000 tonnes following the Group’s success at promoting industrial-grade urea and ammonium nitrate in international markets. Output of these products was up 40% to 640,000 tonnes.

In 2021, the Group’s ammonia output was up 7% to 2,909,000 tonnes, and the volume of ammonia processed through to end products increased to 98% from 96%.

As production of industrial-grade ammonium nitrate went up last year, the Group saw an 8% dip in output of agricultural-grade ammonium nitrate to 2,241,000 tonnes. Output of agricultural-grade urea, however, was up 24% to 1,463,000 tonnes. The Group launched production of granulated urea in 2020 and doubled its output in 2021 year-on-year to 529,000 tonnes. UAN output was up 24% year-on-year to 1,354,000 tonnes due to a better price environment.

The Group’s output of complex fertilisers was up 11% in 2021 to 2,625,000 tonnes, backed by both a favourable price environment and increased production of apatite concentrate at the Oleniy Ruchey mine, where output was up 6% to 1,255,000 tonnes.

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