OCP Group SA posted a 6% increase in EBITDA to $1.42 billion on revenues of $3.19 billion for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2022, up from the year-earlier $1.34 billion and $2.8 billion, respectively. Year-over-year, third-quarter revenues increased by 14%.
Nine-month EBITDA came in 57% higher on the year, reaching $4.31 billion, versus $2.74 billion for the previous year. Revenues for the period increased 39% to $8.96 billion, up from $6.45 billion.
Operating profit for the nine months jumped to $3.65 billion, compared with the year-earlier $1.99 billion.
“In line with our expectations, we end the first nine months of this year with third-quarter pricing dipping sequentially, as demand was muted by record-high first-half prices and high inventory levels in certain regions, together with adverse weather conditions in others,” OCP said.
The group highlighted that within this operating environment, it increased EBITDA by 76% in local currency on 55% revenue growth, citing higher prices across all product categories, which, it said, more than offset lower volumes compared to the same period last year.
OCP Revenue
| 9M-2022 US$ | 9M-2021 US$ | % change | 9M-2022 Percentage of total revenue | 9M-2021 Percentage of total revenue | |
| Phosphate rock | 1,461 | 946 | +54 | 16 | 15 |
| Phosphoric acid | 931 | 969 | (4) | 11 | 15 |
| Fertilizers | 5,841 | 3,890 | +50 | 65 | 60 |
| Others | 722 | 640 | +13 | 8 | 10 |
| Total revenue | 8,955 | 6,445 | +39 | 100 | 100 |
Fertilizers continued to represent a bigger part of sales, accounting for 65% of the total nine-month revenues, up from 60% in the same prior-year period.
Fertilizer revenues for the period increased 68% year-over-year in local currency terms, with higher fertilizer prices mitigating the effect of lower export volumes.
OCP noted that global fertilizer prices gradually eased throughout the second half of 2022, resulting from lower demand in most key markets – notably Brazil, where inventory levels were high, and in Europe and the US, which experienced adverse weather conditions. It added that sharply lower sulfur prices added momentum to the price decline.
Nine-month fertilizer export volumes fell by 10% to 7.1 million mt, down from 7.9 million mt in the same year-earlier period.
Fertilizer Exports by Product Group
| Million mt | 9M-2022 | 9M-2021 | % change |
| NPK/NPS/TSP | 2.5 | 2.9 | (14) |
| DAP/MAP | 4.6 | 5.0 | (8) |
| Total fertilizers | 7.1 | 7.9 | (10) |
OCP said the high demand markets of South America, Asia, and Africa accounted for 88% of nine-month fertilizer exports, compared with the year-ago 76%.
Nine-month phosphoric acid revenues decreased by 6% year-over-year in local currency with lower export volumes, mainly to Europe and India, largely offsetting the increase in phosphoric acid prices. OCP noted the drop in acid volumes to India primarily resulted from a shift from acid to fertilizers.
Phosphate rock revenues in the nine-month period increased by 74% compared with the same prior-year period in local currency, owing primarily to higher rock prices, which largely offset the decrease in export volumes.
OCP sees product pricing for the balance of 2022 to remain similar to third-quarter levels, with increased affordability of phosphates for farmers resulting in a recovery in demand heading into 2023, buoyed by low-to-stable inventory levels in key importing regions.
At the same time, the group expects Chinese exports should remain low at least through the first quarter of next year during China’s spring application season. Also, with the exception of OCP’s additional TSP capacity, which will ramp up progressively in 2023, new supplies are expected to remain limited.
OCP once again did not provide any numbers on its additional TSP capacity plans. However, it is understood the group is adding around 0.5 million mt/y of additional TSP capacity at its Jorf Lasfar site. Existing TSP production capacity at Jorf Lasfar is understood to be some 400,000 mt/y, and at Safi some 900,000 mt/y.