Acron Group Releases M9 2012 Operating Results

OREANDA-NEWS. October 22, 2012. Acron Group’s Consolidated Output (Operating Results for Acron, Dorogobuzh and Hongri Acron)

Chair of Acron’s Board of Directors Alexander Popov commented on the Group’s results:

Over the first nine months of 2012, commercial output at Acron Group’s production facilities was 4.4 million tonnes, up 2% year-on-year.

It should be noted that the Group’s output was affected by upgrades of key Dorogobuzh units in the third quarter of 2012 (primarily a scheduled overhaul of the ammonia unit) and the forced suspension of NPK production at the Group’s Russian production facilities in the middle of the year due to a lack of phosphate raw materials). In October 2012, a series of overhauls will be continued at the main Acron (Veliky Novgorod) units.

The Group has offset lower output at Dorogobuzh by producing nitrogen products at Acron (Veliky Novgorod). This was made possible by the commissioning of a new urea unit and the continuous, stable operation of the ammonia unit. The increase in complex fertiliser production at Hongri Acron (China) further mitigated the effects of reduced NPK production at the Group’s Russian facilities.

I also want to mention the start of production at North-Western Phosphorous Company (NWPC), Acron Group’s first raw material facility. In the reporting period, the Company started extracting and selling apatite-nepheline ore. In the third quarter of 2012, NWPC sold 144,000 tonnes of ore. It is expected that production of commercial apatite concentrate will commence in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The global market remained stable in the third quarter of 2012. High prices on agricultural products and a delay in commissioning major production operations in North Africa and the Middle East have positively affected global fertiliser prices. Moreover, demand from key consumer countries continues to grow.

Average World Prices, USD/tonne *

* Indicative FOB Baltic/Black Sea