OCI NV, Amsterdam, swung back to black in the third quarter versus a year-ago, posting an adjusted net income attributable to shareholders of $56.1 million against the previous year $66.7 million net loss. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.267, versus the year-ago negative $0.318 per share.
Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA rose by 161 percent to $500.6 million, up from $191.5 million, while revenues more than doubled, reaching $1.54 billion against $751.9 million the previous year.
OCI cited significantly higher selling prices for all products year-over-year as driving the EBITDA growth, but this was offset, it said, by lower volumes due to several turnarounds during the quieter Northern Hemisphere summer period and the negative impact from higher gas prices in Europe and the U.S.
Own-product sales volumes fell 11 percent in the quarter compared with a year-ago, decreasing to 2.53 million mt from 2.85 million mt.
Own-produced nitrogen sales volumes declined 2 percent during the quarter to 2.22 million mt, down from 2.28 million mt a year-ago. The company cited turnarounds at Iowa Fertilizer Co. (IFCo) and of a urea line at EFC, Egypt, but said the impact was offset by higher nitrogen pricing.
But own-produced nitrogen fertilizer (including ammonia) sales volumes increased 3 percent, to 2.1 million mt from 2.04 million mt the previous year. Third-quarter ammonia sale volumes alone increased by 40 percent on the year, reaching 542,400 mt.
Total own-produced volumes of Fertiglobe, the Middle Eastern joint venture partnership between OCI and Abu Dhabi’s state-energy company, rose 21 percent year-over-year in the quarter, with OCI citing higher operating rates across the platform and both ammonia and urea sales volumes as driving the increase.
Fertiglobe for the first time issued stand-alone financial results for the third quarter on Nov. 8 (see separate story), and follows the successful listing of the company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Oct. 27 (GM Oct. 29, p. 33). Following the IPO, OCI continues to own a majority stake in the company, calculated to be just over half, with ADNOC now indirectly owning a 36.2 percent interest.
OCI’s own-produced methanol sales volumes declined 46 percent to 308,600 mt, due to planned turnarounds at Natgasoline, Beaumont, Texas, and limited production from BioMCN, in the Netherlands, which was partially offset by higher sales volumes from OCI Beaumont.
Sales volumes of third-party traded products grew a full 75 percent from the third quarter of last year, totaling 879,800 mt versus the year-ago 502,500 mt. OCI’s total sales volumes in the quarter increased 2 percent to total 3.41 million mt.
OCI Nitrogen Segment
| $ million | Nitrogen U.S. | Europe | Fertiglobe | Elim. | Total Nitrogen | |
| 3Q-2021 | ||||||
| Total Revenues | 132.5 | 299.7 | 866.7 | (37.5) | 1,261.4 | |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 9.5 | 52.1 | 374.7 | 2.1 | 438.4 | |
| 3Q-2020 | ||||||
| Total Revenues | 114.5 | 170.1 | 314.9 | (8.5) | 591.0 | |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 36.3 | 32.8 | 106.4 | (1.0) | 174.5 | |
| 9M-2021 | ||||||
| Total Revenues | 474.0 | 783.7 | 2,126.7 | (80.8) | 3,303.6 | |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 175.7 | 135.3 | 911.9 | 2.6 | 1,225.5 | |
| 9M-2020 | ||||||
| Total Revenues | 398.5 | 562.4 | 1,052.4 | (42.0) | 1,971.3 | |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 135.5 | 111.7 | 315.5 | 0.9 | 563.6 | |
OCI’s nitrogen business posted a 151 percent increase in adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter, to $438.4 million from the year-ago $174.5 million, despite turnarounds and higher gas prices in Europe and the U.S.
But adjusted EBITDA for the Nitrogen U.S. segment decreased 74 percent year-over-year, to just $9.5 million. OCI said higher selling prices were offset by lower production and sales volumes due to the extended turnaround for more than two months at IFCo across all production lines during the quarter.
For the Nitrogen Europe segment, significantly higher selling prices combined with higher ammonia, CAN, and UAN volumes, which were only partially offset by high natural gas prices, resulted in a 59 percent increase in adjusted EBITDA year-over-year in the quarter, to $52.1 million.
Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA for Fertiglobe increased 252 percent on the year, to $374.7 million, up from $106.4 million, boosted by the significantly higher nitrogen pricing during the quarter.
For the nine-months, OCI moved back to the positive column, reporting an adjusted net income attributable to shareholders of $271.6 million against the previous year $168.6 million net loss. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.294 against the year-ago negative $0.803 per share.
Nine-month adjusted EBITDA increased by 146 percent to $1.49 billion, up from $603.9 million. Revenues rose 69 percent, to $4.12 billion versus the year-ago $2.44 billion.
OCI said it expects “a meaningful step-up” in adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the third quarter, driven by significantly higher selling prices and advantaged feedstock costs in the MENA region and the U.S.
The company said in 2022 it intends to adopt a semi-annual dividend distribution policy, with a first dividend expected to be announced in February and paid in April 2022.
OCI Product Sales Volumes
| ‘000 mt | 3Q-2021 | 3Q-2020 | % change | 9M-2021 | 9M-2020 | % change |
| Own product | ||||||
| Ammonia | 542.4 | 388.5 | +40 | 1,624.3 | 1,276.8 | +27 |
| Urea | 1,091.2 | 933.8 | +17 | 3,334.0 | 3,290.9 | +1 |
| CAN | 250.5 | 240.3 | +4 | 897.4 | 1,081.1 | (17) |
| UAN | 218.4 | 479.6 | (54) | 942.1 | 1,315.7 | (28) |
| Total fertilizer | 2,102.5 | 2,042.3 | +3 | 6,797.8 | 6,964.4 | (2) |
| Melamine | 29.7 | 47.9 | (38) | 96.7 | 107.9 | (10) |
| DEF | 88.0 | 185.9 | (53) | 424.7 | 455.2 | (7) |
| Total nitrogen products | 2,220.2 | 2,276.0 | (2) | 7,319.2 | 7,527.3 | (3) |
| Methanol1 | 308.6 | 572.9 | (46) | 1,418.2 | 1,324.2 | +7 |
| Total own products sold | 2,528.8 | 2,848.9 | (11) | 8,737.4 | 8,851.4 | (1) |
| Traded third party | ||||||
| Ammonia | 65.0 | 31.6 | +106 | 186.2 | 176.2 | +6 |
| Urea | 320.0 | 179.3 | +78 | 1,042.4 | 635.4 | +64 |
| UAN | 11.1 | 6.3 | +76 | 31.6 | 18.7 | +69 |
| Methanol | 216.0 | 35.2 | +514 | 323.0 | 223.6 | +44 |
| AS | 110.5 | 183.8 | (40) | 343.3 | 512.0 | (33) |
| DEF | 157.2 | 66.2 | +137 | 296.0 | 172.2 | +72 |
| Total traded third party | 879.8 | 502.5 | +75 | 2,222.5 | 1,738.1 | +28 |
| Total own product and traded third party | 3,408.6 | 3,351.4 | +2 | 10,959.9 | 10,589.6 | +3 |
1 Including OCI’s 50 percent share of Natgasoline volumes