March 31, 2024, compared with A$354 million in profit for the same period in 2023. The loss included A$312 million in one-off items in its fertilizer business, partially offset by a gain on the sale of the ammonia facility in Waggaman, La.
EBITDA came in 55% lower year-over-year, to A$249 million. The fertilizer segment saw a sharp decline in EBITA, to A$10 million from A$108 million last year. The distribution business reported earnings of A$27 million, up from A$12 million last year due to increased demand for fertilizers following above-average rainfall on Australia’s east coast.
Despite the robust distribution earnings, the closure of the Gibson Island facility in Brisbane, reduced manufacturing at Phosphate Hill in northwest Queensland, and lower fertilizers prices affected the company’s performance. Domestic sales volumes showed a 15% increase, while total sales volume declined 6%, to 1 million mt.
IPL also announced that it is in advanced negotiations with Indonesian PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur (PKT) for the potential sale of its fertilizer business. Pupuk Kalimantan Timur has ammonia capacity of 2.7 million mt/y, urea capacity of 3.4 million mt/y, and NPK capacity of 300,000 mt/y.
“They are one of the largest urea, ammonia, and NPK fertilizers producers in Asia with a strong global footprint and an existing supply chain into Australia,” said IPL CEO Mauro Neves. “The next steps are to complete a binding agreement and then necessary regulatory approvals.”
IPL reported in December that it might have to “walk away” from the deal due to complications (GM Dec. 22, 2023). IPL has been in negotiations with Pupuk Kaltim since last summer (GM July 28, 2023) and shedding the fertilizer unit has been under consideration for some time (GM Sept. 6, 2019).
Analysts have suggested several possible sticking points to the sale of IPF (GM Aug. 11, 2023), including availability and supply of natural gas and sulfur for the company’s Phosphate Hill ammonium phosphate plant; gaining approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board for the sale of Australia’s only phosphate producer; and farmer fears that the Australian phosphates might go to Indonesia instead of Australia.