Grupa Azoty Doubles H1 Net Profit, Optimises Financial Performance

WARSAW, August 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Poland's chemical champion Grupa Azoty SA announced on Wednesday that its net profit for the six months to the end of June was 90% up compared to H1 2014 (PLN 458m, PLN 241m in 2014), as it has substantially reduced operational costs while keeping revenues at the same level as in 2014 (PLN 5.1bn).  

[PLN 1 = $0.27, €0.24, £0.17]

The company has reported EBIT of PLN 535m, compared to PLN 292m in 2014.

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Commenting on the results announcement, Paweł Jarczewski, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"I am pleased with this strong set of results, reflecting the continuous implementation of the 2020 strategy and the delivery on the primary promise of the operational excellence programme Azoty PRO, i.e. optimisation of our financial performance.  

"These robust results confirm that we remain on course to achieve our long-term aspiration of becoming a key European and global player in chemical and fertiliser industries."  

Andrzej Skolmowski, Vice-President of Grupa Azoty responsible for the financial portfolio, said:

"We present these strong results today as a result of hard work across the Company to make the best use of diversified gas supplies and temporarily improved market conditions in the plastic industry, bringing our costs significantly down.  

"We are also pleased to report that in the second quarter of 2015 we managed to improve the margins in almost all areas of our business, despite seasonal maintenance works."  

The Company also reported its Q2 results on Wednesday, noting an increase in EBIT (PLN 172m, compared to PLN 63m in 2014) and net profit (PLN 152m, PLN 90m in 2014) with a slight decrease in revenues (PLN 2.2bn to PLN 2.3bn in 2014).

NOTES TO EDITORS  

Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE: ATT), Grupa Azoty is Poland's largest chemical company and the EU's second-largest producer of fertilizers, while such products of Grupa Azoty as melamine, caprolactam, polyamide, OXO alcohols, and titanium dioxide also enjoy a strong position in the chemical sector and find application in other industries.

Following the successful consolidation of Polish chemical industry, at present Grupa Azoty consists of more than 50 entities. The Polish government declared Grupa Azoty a 'strategic asset', and the Company announced it was seeking to diversify its portfolio through regional and global acquisitions.

SOURCE Grupa Azoty