JSC Acron (LSE, RTS and MICEX: AKRN) today Announces its Unaudited Results for the Company and its Consolidated Subsidiaries (the “Group”) for the six months ended June 30, 2008.
1H Highlights:
Financials
- The Group’s revenue reached RUB 22,327 million, up 56 per cent year-on year (H1 2007: RUB 14,339 million);
- EBITDA* rallied 190 per cent to reach RUB 10,234 million, against RUB 3,534 million in H1 2007;
- EBITDA margin totaled 46 per cent, against 25 per cent in the same period last year;
- The Group’s net profit reached RUB 7,205 million – up 228 per cent year-on-year from RUB 2,195 million;
- Earnings per ordinary share surged 230 per cent to reach RUB 152, against RUB 46 in H1 2007.
*EBITDA is calculated as operating profit plus depreciation and amortisation.
Note: Average exchange rate was US $ 1 to RUB 23.9184 in H1 2008 and US $ 1 to RUB 26.0714 in H1 2007
Supplies
| Product | H1 2007 1,000 t | H1 2008 1,000 t | YOY (%) |
| Straight nitrogen fertilisers | 921 | 915 | -1% |
| Ammonia | 115 | 111 | -4% |
| Urea | 181 | 126 | -10% |
| Ammonium nitrate | 625 | 563 | -30% |
| Urea-ammonium nitrate | - | 115 | |
| Multi-nutrient fertilisers | 1,336 | 1,045 | -22% |
| NPK | 1,135 | 906 | -20% |
| NP | 29 | 8 | -71% |
| Bulk blends | 172 | 131 | -24% |
| Organic synthesis production | 181 | 184 | 2% |
| Methanol | 71 | 55 | -22% |
| Formalin | 16 | 12 | -20% |
| Urea-formaldehyde resins | 95 | 117 | 23% |
| Inorganic synthesis products | 463 | 444 | -4% |
| Industrial grade ammonium nitrate | 110 | 123 | 12% |
| Food-grade carbon dioxide | 28 | 26 | -8% |
| Calcium carbonate | 243 | 233 | -4% |
| Argon | 3 | 3 | 0% |
| Hydrochloric acid | 79 | 59 | -25% |
Key Developments
Acron subsidiary Verkhnekamsk Potash Company obtained an exploration license for the Talitsky lot of the Verkhnekamsk potassium-magnesium salts deposit.
Alexander Popov, chairman of Acron’s Board of Directors, commenting on the Group’s performance:
“In the first six months of the year Acron demonstrated solid financial performance. However, we expect that the financial crisis sweeping the global markets will trigger lower global prices for mineral fertilizers. This may affect our financial indicators in the last quarter of 2008.
As regards results of operations, in the first six months of the year the phosphate market tightened and prices for phosphates rallied, which forced Group’s Dorogobuzh and Hongri Acron to cut their NPK production. Sales of urea and AN also fell, primarily as their significant volumes were consumed in-house for the production of urea ammonium nitrate, a new mineral fertilizer in the Group’s product portfolio”.