Los Angeles — Fueled by higher sales prices, Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP, which manufactures and sells ammonia, UAN, and urea at its plant in East Dubuque, Ill., reported net income of $10.5 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011, more than double the $4.3 million in net income reported in the prior year quarter. The company generated operating income of $22.6 million and EBITDA of $25.9 million for the 2011 quarter, compared with $14.6 million and $17.2 million, respectively, in the prior year. The reduced EBITDA was attributed to a scheduled biannual plant turnaround at East Dubuque in the fall of 2011, which included roughly 15.5 days of plant downtime in October 2011. Revenues for the latest quarter were $63 million, compared with $43 million for the comparable period in the prior year. Higher sales prices in 2011 also boosted the company’s gross profit margin on product shipments to 46 percent for the period, up from 38 percent in the 2010 quarter. “Rentech Nitrogen reported exceptional results, which benefitted from strong product pricing,” said D. Hunt Ramsbottom, Rentech CEO. “We continue to see robust fundamentals driving nitrogen demand, especially in our core market of the Mid Corn Belt region. We expect natural gas prices to remain at low levels, which will continue to positively impact product margins.” Ramsbottom said the company implemented several production efficiency-related improvements at the plant during the October turnaround, which resulted in record production rates and lower natural gas usage. Rentech produced 63,000 st of ammonia during the latest quarter, of which 30,000 st was available for sale as ammonia, 28,000 st was upgraded into UAN, and 5,000 st was upgraded into other nitrogen products. Average prices for ammonia and UAN during the quarter were $684/st and $307/st, respectively, compared to $512/st and $193/st, respectively, for the comparable period in the prior year. Rentech delivered 55,000 st of ammonia, 65,000 st of UAN, and 10,000 st of other nitrogen products during the quarter, compared with 44,000 st, 79,000 st, and 10,000 st, respectively, during the comparable period in the prior year. Rentech said it has secured strong product pricing in its spring forward sales book. Product prices have strengthened recently, it noted, and the company anticipates further nitrogen price appreciation as the spring season develops. Rentech noted that its board of directors has approved a change of the company’s fiscal year-end to Dec. 31 from Sept. 30. With this change, Rentech’s 2012 fiscal year began on Jan. 1, 2012, and will end on Dec. 31, 2012.
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