The Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP) group, the world’s leading player in the fertilizer industry, achieved a turnover of 18.2 billion dirhams in the first quarter of this year, compared to 25.3 billion dirhams in the same period last year.
The OCP group indicated, in the statement of its financial results sent to MoroccoLatestNews, that the gross profit before deduction of interest, taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) amounted to 4.6 billion dirhams, against 11.6 billion dirhams recorded in the first quarter of the past financial year. During the first three months of this year, the OCP group made an investment volume of approximately 5.6 billion dirhams, compared to approximately 2.9 billion dirhams during the same period last year, i.e. an increase of 93%.
The data from the Group’s financial results also indicates that the first quarter of the current year was characterized by a continuous decline in international prices for phosphate fertilizers, mainly due to the significant drop in the prices of raw materials, such as sulfur and ammonia, as well as lower demand in most importing markets, with the exception of Brazil and India.
The OCP group said that many markets preferred to postpone their purchases of fertilizers in the hope of benefiting from additional price reductions despite their low prices.
The decline in the number of transactions in the first three months of this year is the result of lower sales prices and volumes, and the first quarter of 2022 saw an exceptional increase in prices, which led to a decline on an annual basis. compared to the first quarter of 2023. But compared to the same period and since 2021, the number of transactions has increased by 28%.
That said, during the first quarter of the year, the OCP group achieved good profitability despite a difficult market environment, which confirms ” the solidity of its economic model and its competitive advantages represented by its industrial and commercial flexibility and its leadership in terms of cost control”according to the financial results.
The OCP group has optimistic and promising expectations for the second half of the current year. Also, given the low levels of stocks in some areas, in addition to favorable economic conditions for farmers and the imminent approach of the application season, the morale of OCP Group remains high.
These positive factors and this projection of joviality should mitigate the impact of lower volumes in the first quarter, in parallel with the fall in raw material prices, in addition of course to improving margins. In addition, the group intends to gradually provide the additional capacities planned for the second half, depending on the evolution of demand, and in the absence of a significant increase in capacity at the sector level.
At the end of the last financial year, the OCP group had announced a new investment program amounting to 130 billion dirhams. This jackpot should bring fertilizer production capacity to 20 million tonnes. By investing in renewable energies and the desalination of seawater, this will supply all industrial installations with green energy by 2027.