Brazil’s Fertilizantes Heringer reported an 81.2% increase in third-quarter volumes, to 783,957 mt from the year-ago 432,601 mt, but the climb was not enough to push net income into the black. The company reported a net loss of R$62.7 million ($12.8 million) on net revenue of R$1.64 billion, an improvement over the year-ago loss of R$110.8 million and R$1.8 billion, respectively.
Heringer reported improved margins in the third quarter due to a stabilization in prices. The company reported a negative EBITDA of R$3.5 million versus the year-ago negative R$45.9 million.
During the quarter both conventional and specialty fertilizer volumes moved up. Conventional were up 84.6%, to 532,000 mt from the year-ago 288,000 mt, while specialty rose 73.9%, to 252,000 mt from 145,000 mt.
Lower fertilizer prices had a greater impact on Heringer’s nine-month period. The company reported a net loss of R$329.5 million on revenue of R$3.91 billion, compared to a year-ago loss of R$77.1 million on revenue of R$4.12 billion. EBITDA was a negative R$280.5 million compared to the year-ago negative R$63.3 million. Despite the lower financial performance, nine-month volumes increased 65.5%, to 1.61 million mt from 975,966 mt, as lower prices moved tons. Conventional volumes were up 85.9%, to 1.06 million mt from the year-ago 570,000 mt, while specialty were up 36.7%, to 555,000 mt from 406,000 mt.