Yara reports strong second-quarter results with record deliveries
"Yara reports a strong second quarter with record deliveries," said Jørgen Ole Haslestad, President and Chief Executive Officer in Yara.
"While we have seen a considerable price decline for urea - almost 30% - our value-added product prices are broadly in line with a year ago, as continued strong food prices motivate farmers to optimize productivity with higher-efficiency fertilizer," said Jørgen Ole Haslestad.
Yara reports second-quarter net income after non-controlling interests of NOK 1,865 million (NOK 6.68 per share), compared with NOK 2,787 million (NOK 9.82 per share) a year earlier. Excluding net foreign exchange loss and special items, the result was NOK 7.98 per share compared with NOK 10.80 per share in second quarter 2012. Second-quarter EBITDA excluding special items was NOK 4,066 million compared with NOK 5,194 million a year earlier.
Yara fertilizer deliveries increased for all main product groups. Urea sales increased by 42%, reflecting higher sales of Qafco urea primarily in Brazil and North America, but also in the Mediterranean region. Compound NPK saw continued strong demand, and deliveries were up 30% with strong European and Asian core market growth. Nitrate deliveries were 14% above last year, mainly reflecting higher European sales.
Second-quarter nitrogen fertilizer industry deliveries in Europe were up 14% reflecting strong demand for immediate consumption, following poor weather in March. The European nitrogen fertilizer industry enters the 2013/14 season in Europe with lower stocks, in Yara's case 19% lower than a year ago. European farm margins remain strong, with somewhat lower cereal prices but significantly higher dairy prices than a year ago.