Brussels-based Tessenderlo Group on Aug. 21 reported first-half revenues of €1.39 billion ($1.55 billion), down 15% from last year. Adjusted EBITDA was €150.7 million ($167.6 million), down 26.5% from 2023, while net profit was also down 26% year-over-year at €61.4 million ($68.3 million).
Revenue for the Agro division saw a 3.5% year-over-year increase, to €460 million ($512 million), while adjusted EBITDA for the segment was up 37% for the first half, to €59.5 million ($66.2 million). The improved performance was attributed to increased sales volumes, which offset lower prices.
Tessenderlo said it anticipates continued levels of economic uncertainty, pressuring demand as well as margins in a volatile geopolitical, economic, financial, and health environment. The company projects higher second-half EBITDA than in 2023, but its overall 2024 adjusted EBITDA was down of 5-10% from 2023.
Tessenderlo also provided updates on various projects, including its new liquid fertilizer plant in Defiance, Ohio. Construction began on the project in March 2023 (GM March 24, 2023), with operations targeted to start in the first quarter of 2024. The facility will focus on the company’s sulfur-based crop nutrition brands – Thio-Sul, KTS, and K-Row 23 – as well as sulfite chemistries for the industrial markets.
Tessenderlo also noted that construction in in the final stages at its Thio-Sul plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, with operations slated to begin in the third quarter of 2024.