All Posts from March 22, 2016

Univar acquires Nexus Ag in Saskatchewan

Univar Inc. in Downers Grove, Ill., announced on March 22 that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Univar Canada Ltd., has acquired the assets of Nexus Ag Business Inc., headquartered in Saskatoon, Sask.

Nexus Ag was founded in 1997 and is a wholesale fertilizer distributor to the Western Canada agriculture market. The company has six regional warehouse locations offering a broad range of products, including micronutrients, specialty fertilizers, potash, phosphates, and liquid and soluble nutrients from leading North American producers.

“As a recognized leader in the fertilizer business in Western Canada, the addition of Nexus Ag to the Univar family enhances our existing macronutrient and crop protection inputs by adding a proprietary line of micronutrients, macronutrients, and specialty fertilizers,” said Mike Hildebrand, president, Univar Canada, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. “This, together with our leading distribution and services network in the region, further strengthens Univar Agriculture’s ability to provide customers in Canada with a complete product and service offering that covers the entire growing cycle from start to finish.”

Univar Agriculture provides crop protection, seed, and fertilizer products and services to the cereal, oilseed, specialty crop, and horticultural markets in Canada. The Nexus Ag acquisition expands its distribution network to 16 facilities in four provinces, offering more than 1.2 million square feet of Agrichemical Warehousing Standards Association (AWSA) warehouse space, the most in Canada.

Parent company Univar is a global distributor of specialty and basic chemicals from more than 8,000 producers worldwide. Univar operates more than 800 distribution facilities throughout North America, Western Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America, supported by a global network of sales and technical professionals.

Univar’s purchase of Nexus Ag follows its October 2015 acquisition of Future Transfer and BlueStar Distribution, which expanded its logistics, warehousing, packaging, and formulation services capabilities within the Canadian agriculture market. Univar’s Fort Storage business also provides storage and logistics services to segments of the crop protection industry, and its Univar Environmental Sciences business provides products for vegetation management in forestry, industrial sites, and rights-of-way.

Commission votes for moratorium on mining

The Union County Commission in Florida voted unanimously March 21 to put a one-year moratorium on mining applications. However, the matter has to be approved on a second vote in order to take effect.

HPS II, which is proposing a phosphate rock mine for Union and Bradford Counties in the state, told Green Markets, that it looks forward to working with the Union County Commission regarding the proposed project. The company said it understands the concerns being voiced in Union County, and will continue their due diligence in working with the county towards a resolution.

In Bradford County, HPS said the process continues to move forward. Indeed, a town hall meeting in that county held March 16 was generally regarded as supportive compared to the opposition that has arose in Union County.

HPS II, (formerly known as HPPS Enterprises LLC, GM March 11, p. 13) is composed of four family-owned landowners in the two counties.

OCP 2015 results up

Morocco’s OCP SA today reported a 55 percent increase in full-year 2015 EBITDA, to MAD 17,660 million ($1.8 billion) on revenues of MAD 47,747 million ($4.9 billion), up from 2014’s MAD 11,402 million ($1.4 billion) and MAD 41,436 million ($4.9 billion) respectively.

Adjusted operating cash generated for the full year increased 67 percent to MAD 12,293 million ($1.3 billion), up from MAD 7,338 million ($873 million) in 2014.

Fourth-quarter EBITDA was 31 percent higher year-on-year at MAD 3,737 million ($377 million) on revenues of MAD 10,610 million ($1.1 billion), up from the year-ago MAD 2,848 million and MAD 10,521 million, respectively.

“Our ability to deliver improved fourth-quarter margins in a difficult industry environment reflects targeted investments over recent years to enhance our production optimization and achieve further cost efficiencies,” said Mostafa Terrab, OCP chairman and CEO. “In the quarter, we benefited from transportation and energy cost savings following the ramp-up of the slurry pipeline, and realized competitive raw material sourcing.”  He said the investment program is also increasing the company’s industrial flexibility, which enables it to quickly adapt its production mix to optimize capacity and margins.

OCP attributed the 15 percent year-on-year increase in full-year revenues on a local currency basis to higher phosphate rock and acid revenues, which, it said, offset decreased fertilizer sales. The company’s 2015 top-line results benefited from higher prices for rock and acid, stable fertilizer prices, and growing Indian demand and higher sales to Africa. These compensated for lower Brazilian fertilizer imports and higher Chinese exports. OCP said it achieved a “significant” increase in new product sales through expanding in high growth markets, notably Africa. In 2015, Africa accounted for 24 percent of the company’s total fertilizer exports, up from 13 percent in 2014.

OCP’s 2015 capital expenditure totalled MAD 14,264 million ($1.5 billion) as part of its ongoing industrial investment program, initiated in 2008. Key projects completed last year were: the continued ramp-up of the Jorf Lasfar slurry pipeline which transported 6.5 million mt of rock in 2015, more than double the 2.7 million mt transported in the previous year, resulting in MAD 0.8 billion of cost saving; the first integrated fertilizer plant at Jorf Lasfar became operational in the first half of the year with the second plant expected to come online by mid-2016; the first phosphoric acid line adapted for processing phosphate pulp was launched in September; and the desalination plant at Jorf Lasfar had its first start-up tests in July and has since begun commercial operations.