Fertilizer producers record profits exceeding year plans

Many fertilizer companies have reported after-tax profits exceeding the whole year's plan in the first nine months of the year as prices remained high.

PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemicals Corporation (DPM), a subsidiary of state-run Petrovietnam, recorded after-tax profits of VND4,466 billion ($179.6 million) in the period, nearly three times year-on-year and nearly 30% higher than the year's target.

In the same period, PetroVietnam Camau Fertilizer JSC (DCM) earned after-tax profits of more than VND3,270 billion ($131.5 million), nearly four times year-on-year and 6.4 times higher than the year’s plan.

The state-run chemical giant Vinachem reported profits of VND5,404 billion ($224 million), about three times higher than the year’s plan.

Meanwhile, Duc Giang Chemicals Group posted after-tax profits of VND4,917 billion ($201 million), 3.4 times year-on-year and more than 40% higher than the year's target.

The Southern Fertilizer JSC recorded after-tax profits of nearly VND52 billion ($2.09 million), up nearly three times over the same period last year.

Van Dien Fused Magnesium Phosphate Fertilizer JSC's after-tax profit increased by more than half to nearly VND32 billion ($1.29 million).

Lam Thao Fertilizers And Chemicals JSC made an after-tax profit of more than VND67 billion ($2.69 million), up more than 15%.

Since the beginning of the year, fertilizer prices have been adjusted down from their peak level but continue to remain high. The price of urea of many big domestic and imported brands ranges from VND780,000 to VND840,000 ($34) per 50kg bag. Other common kinds of fertilizers like DAP, potassium, and NPK are still priced at over VND1 million ($41) per bag.

VnDirect Securities, a leading securities broker, expects global fertilizer prices to decrease in the coming months, because prices in North America have dropped sharply since March. Besides, China has approved an increase in yellow phosphorus capacity by 356,000 tons per year for the 2023-2024 period from the current 1.4 million tons. The price of this item, therefore, will cool down in 2023, the broker said.

Meanwhile, Viet Capital Securities (VCSC) believes that urea prices will continue to stay high in 2022-2023 due to high gas and coal prices, which are the main input materials.