All Posts from August 5, 2022

CVR 2Q Net Income Soars

Ammonia, Earnings, News, UAN

CVR Partners LP reported second-quarter net income of $117.6 million ($11.12 per diluted unit) on net sales of $244 million, up from the year-ago $7 million ($0.66 cents per common unit) on net sales of $138 million. EBITDA was $147.2 million, up from the year-ago $51.5 million.

“CVR Partners achieved solid operating results for the second quarter of 2022, driven by strong global fertilizer industry conditions,” said Mark Pytosh, CEO of CVR Partners’ general partner. “While spring weather presented a challenge, planted grain acres were in line with USDA estimates. We also are pleased to announce a cash distribution of $10.05 per common unit for the 2022 second quarter.

“Looking ahead, we expect industry conditions to remain strong due to attractive farm economics and elevated nitrogen fertilizer prices driven by natural gas shortages in Western Europe and dislocations created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he added.

Six-month net income was $211.2 million ($19.90 per unit) on net sales of $466.9 million, up from the year-ago loss of $18.4 million ($1.72 per unit) and $198.9 million, respectively. EBITDA was $270.6 million, up from $56.1 million.

Sales (000 st) 2Q-22 2Q-21 YTD-22 YTD-21
Ammonia        52 80 91 112
UAN 287 370 609 609
Plant Gate Price $/st 2Q-22 2Q-21 YTD-22 YTD-21
Ammonia        1,182 403 1,127 373
UAN 555 237 524 206
Production (000 st) 2Q-22 2Q-21 YTD-22 YTD-21
Ammonia – gross 193 217 380 404
Ammonia – net 50 70 102 140
UAN 331 334 648 606
Feedstock 2Q-22 2Q-21 YTD-22 YTD-21
Petroleum Coke 49.91 36.69 53.06 39.73
Natural Gas ($/mmBtu) 7.34 3.04 6.48 3.07

OSHA Seeks $110,630 Due to NH3 Leak

Ammonia, News, News Briefs, Southeast

U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed a penalty of $110,630 for Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. due to a Jan. 19, 2022, ammonia leak at a Canton, Ga., poultry processing plant that caused the hospitalization of two workers and led to the evacuation of about 50 workers. OSHA found that the incident might have been prevented had the company followed required safety standards.

OSHA issued nine citations for inadequately implementing and maintaining the process safety management program for controlling anhydrous ammonia hazards in industrial refrigeration systems. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Carlyle, GIC Invest in Green Ammonia

Green Ammonia, News, News Briefs

Carlyle Group Inc., New York City, and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte. made a “strategic investment” in Eneus Energy Ltd. to support the company’s push to develop green ammonia projects.

The backing allows Eneus Energy, which has registered offices in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Newcastle, Del., to continue to develop global projects involving ammonia made using renewable energy, starting with the U.S. and U.K., the companies said in a statement that did not disclose the initial amount invested.

The deal gives Carlyle and GIC the ability to invest more than $3 billion in Eneus Energy’s projects in the next five years, according to Pooja Goyal, Chief Investment Officer of Carlyle’s Infrastructure Group.

“We’ve taken a very focused view on energy transition in the last few years,” Goyal said in an interview. “When we think about economically viable options to reduce carbon molecules, we think ammonia is the most viable option today.”

Coromandel Closes on BMCC Stake

India, News, News Briefs, Phosphate

India’s Coromandel International Ltd. on Aug. 3 formalized the acquisition of 45% of the equity stake in Senegal’s Baobab Mining and Chemicals Corp. (BMCC), according to the Press Trust of India. The deal had been announced in May (GM May 13, p. 37). The price was reported as $19.6 million, plus a loan to BMCC of a further $9.7 million.

BMCC is in the business of the mining, production, and sale of rock phosphate, and Coromandel will use BMMC rock to produce DAP in India. BMCC stabilized its operations and commenced active production from 2021, and at full capacity BMCC can meet up to one-third of Coromandel’s phosphate rock requirement, Coromandel said.

The Indian company’s fertilizer assets include three plants capable of producing 3 million mt/y of phosphate fertilizers. It is a partner in Tunisian phosphoric acid producer Tunisian Indian Fertilizer SA (TIFERT) and holds an interest in South Africa’s Foskor Pty Ltd., via which it secures its phosphoric acid requirements.

Kalium Reports Inaugural SOP Sale

Australia, News, News Briefs, Specialty, Sulfate of Potash

Kalium Lakes Ltd., Balcatta, Western Australia, Australia’s first producer of sulfate of potash (SOP) through primary solar evaporation, announced on July 31 that it has commenced delivery of standard grade SOP from the Beyondie SOP Mine to local Western Australia fertilizer manufacturer and distributor CSBP Fertilisers as part of the inaugural sale under its 10-year offtake agreement (90,000 mt/y) with K+S Group (GM March 29, 2019) through its Asian subsidiary, K+S Asia Pacific.

“We are pleased to advise the loading of our first delivery of SOP from the Beyondie SOP Mine in accordance with previous advice to shareholders that commercial sales were targeted to commence in July 2022,” said Len Jubber, Kalium Lakes CEO. “This is an important milestone in the commissioning of the Beyondie SOP Mine as the sole Australian producer of SOP. It also heralds the start of the era of domestic SOP production in Australia, for distribution to the Australian and international agricultural markets.”

“As the only WA producer of compound Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (NPK) products, CSBP Fertilisers (CSBP) is pleased to be receiving the first tranche of locally produced SOP, a key feedstock in the manufacture of CSBP’s premium NPK compound fertilizer MacroPro Extra,” said Mark Scatena, CSBP Fertilisers General Manager. “While CSBP has long maintained strong and diverse global supply relationships, local SOP production has the potential to improve the security of supply for WA industry, enabling CSBP to continue the local manufacture of its premium fertilizer range tailored to WA conditions and the requirements of WA growers.”

Kalium said product is expected to be dispatched to CSBP over the next month, and that it product exceeds contractual minimum grade requirements. The company expects more of its product to be offered to local farmers for the 2023 season.

Following a planned August plant shutdown, Kalium has targeted ramp-up for increasing quantities to be shipped to interstate and overseas markets. It expects Beyondie to be operating at an approximate 80,000 mt/y SOP production run rate by the first quarter of calendar year 2023, with a targeted 120,000 mt/y run rate to be established by the third quarter of calendar year 2024

Kalium said in the coming months it will begin fine tuning the Koppern compaction plant that was partially commissioned in June. This is also expected to result in higher-priced granular SOP, comprising an increasing proportion of company sales.

Ma’aden Plant at Commercial Production

Ammonia, News, News Briefs, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Ma’aden) on Aug. 1 announced the end of the trial production period and the start of the commercial production for the Ammonia 3 plant within the third phosphate project. Designed capacity of the ammonia plant is about 1.1 million mt/y.

The company said the plant has achieved stability in trial operations, and it is expected that the financial impact of commercial production on the company’s financial results will appear in financial results for the second-quarter 2022.

Darling Acquires Brazil’s FASA Group

Brazil, News, News Briefs, Specialty, Texas

Darling Ingredients Inc., Irving, Texas, said on Aug. 1 that it has completed the acquisition of Brazil’s largest independent rendering company, FASA Group. The purchase price is approximately R$2.8 billion (Brazilian Real) in cash (US$542.6 million), plus or minus various closing adjustments and a contingent payment based on future earnings growth.

As part of the transaction, Darling has acquired 14 plants that process more than 1.3 million mt/y, with an additional two plants under construction.

“Brazil will play a big role in feeding a growing world population, which makes it a premier location to grow our specialty ingredients business,” said Randall C. Stuewe, Chairman and CEO, Darling Ingredients. “FASA is a well-run business, will be immediately accretive, and further de-risks the supply chain by providing an additional source of non-food based, low-carbon waste fats to be used in the production of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel.”

Darling operates 250 plants in 17 countries and repurposes nearly 15% of the world’s meat industry waste streams into value-added products such as fertilizer, green energy, renewable diesel, collagen, animal proteins, meals, and pet food ingredients.

The Andersons Completes Railcar Exit

Eastern Cornbelt, News, News Briefs

The Andersons Inc., Maumee, Ohio, said last month that it completed the sale of its railcar repair business to Cathcart Rail. “The sale of our railcar repair business to Cathcart Rail finalizes our exit from the rail segment, as we announced in August of last year,” said Pat Bowe, President and CEO of The Andersons. “Our strategic decision to exit our rail segment allows us to focus on and invest in our core agricultural verticals of grain and fertilizer.”

Orica to Acquire Mining Tech Company

Australia, News, News Briefs

Orica Ltd., East Melbourne, Victoria, reported that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Axis Mining Technology. The purchase price comprises upfront cash consideration of A$260 million and a deferred earn-out payment up to a maximum of A$90 million, contingent on financial performance and other conditions being met.

Orica said the associated costs will be funded through the proceeds of a fully underwritten A$650 million institutional share placement. The placement will be conducted at A$16.00 per share, representing a 7.0% discount to the last traded price of A$17.20 on Aug. 2. The placement will result in approximately 40.6 million new shares being issued, representing approximately 9.9% of its existing issued capital.

Additional proceeds from the placement will be used to fund incremental trade working capital requirements arising as a result of global supply chain dislocations, and also provide balance sheet capacity.

Northern Nutrients Launches Triple Kick

News, News Briefs, Nitrogen, Saskatchewan, Specialty, Sulfur

Northern Nutrients Ltd., Saskatoon, on Aug. 2 announced the successful production of a new nitrogen sulfur fertilizer that contains nitrogen stabilizers evenly dispersed throughout the prill. The 38% nitrogen and 18% sulfur fertilizer is named Triple Kick, and it also contains a source of carbon. The company said the product is an industry first, in that it is the first nitrogen and sulfur source designed to limit volatilization and leaching.

“With an increased global focus on improving nitrogen efficiency and reducing nitrous oxide emissions, we believe our innovative Triple Kick fertilizer offers a one-of-a-kind solution in the $57 billion dollar global nitrogen market, especially in light of the recently proposed regulation by the Canadian government aimed at reducing fertilizer emissions by 30%,” said Northern Nutrients CEO and Founder Ross Guenther. “The initial market reaction to our new product has been phenomenal as we ramp up production for the fall season.”

Triple Kick will be produced in Northern Nutrients’ new enhanced urea fertilizer manufacturing facility outside Saskatoon (GM June 25, 2021). The facility utilizes the Shell Thiogro technology, a patented process for the incorporation of micronized elemental sulfur into urea, resulting in a sulfur form that is available to plants across the growing season. The facility also manufactures Arctic S 11-0-0-75, an enhanced sulfur urea fertilizer, which commenced production in April of 2022.

Disclaimer of Warranty
All information has been obtained by Green Markets from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Green Markets or others, Green Markets does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information.

For additional details visit our Terms of Use.