Arab Potash reports JD38.5m in net profit in Q1

AMMAN — The Arab Potash Company (APC) has announced that its net profit after taxes, provisions and royalties amounted to JD38.5 million during the first quarter of 2019, recording an increase of around 33 per cent per from the JD25.7 million generated during the same period last year.

In a statement on Tuesday, APC’s Chairman of the Board of Directors Jamal Al Sarayrah attributed the increase in profits to the 150 per cent growth in the sales volume of potash.

Al Sarayrah noted that the APC has also achieved “record” sales volume of potash during the first four months of this year that amounted to 629,000 tonnes, signalling an increase of 8 per cent from the same period in 2018.

The record sales volume and the rise in international potash prices have played a significant role in increasing the APC’s revenues by 17 per cent during the first quarter of 2019 compared with the same period in 2018, Al Sarayrah said.

Al Sarayrah also said that the APC-affiliated companies, especially the Jordan-Bromine Company have also played a major role in boosting the APC’s growth.

The chairman added that the Jordan-Bromine Company has achieved “record” production volumes during the first quarter of 2019 that amounted to 635,000 tonnes compared with the 597,000 tonnes produced during the same period last year.

Citing the International Fertiliser Association, APC President and CEO Maen Nsour expected a growth in fertiliser demand “but under different conditions and patterns”.

Nsour explained that the environment factor and the best practices for fertiliser application will play an important role in determining the types and quantities of fertilisers on demand. “The growth is expected to reach two per cent or 1.3 million tonnes of potash per year.”

The APC announced in February that its net profit after taxes, provisions and royalties amounted to JD125 million in 2018, recording an increase of 39 per cent from 2017’s JD90 million.

Al Sarayrah said at the time that the company “has achieved a significant progress towards reducing production cost per tonne”, explaining that production cost of potash has decreased by 31 per cent per tonne since 2013.

The chairman attributed the reduction in production costs primarily to the savings achieved in water and energy use, which coincided with the record production volumes achieved in 2018, reaching 2.436 million tonnes — “the highest recorded volume in the company’s history”.