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3 minute readOctober 20, 20224:21 PM GMT+2Last Updated 3 days ago
Yara to pay extra dividend as earnings soar above expectation
By Victoria Klesty
A general view of the Yara ammonia plant in Porsgrunn
A general view of the Yara ammonia plant in Porsgrunn, Norway August 9, 2017. Picture taken August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Lefteris Karagiannopoulos
Summary
Companies
Profits rise despite ammonia plant curtailments
Gas costs make it cheaper to import ammonia to Europe
Q3 core earnings $1.0 bln vs forecast $765 mln
OSLO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Norwegian fertiliser maker Yara (YAR.OL) on Thursday proposed to pay an extra dividend to shareholders after third quarter earnings topped forecasts as soaring prices offset higher gas costs that forced the company to cut output in Europe.
Yara's shares rose 6.9% to a four-month high on the results which come amid tight global supply of fertiliser, adding to growing concerns about food security.
It is one of several European companies that curbed production of ammonia, which plays a key role in the manufacturing of fertiliser, as energy prices surged following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It has had to import ammonia from cheaper overseas sources to meet customer demand in Europe.
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"Our returns are up, with strong margins more than offsetting lower deliveries," Chief Executive Svein Tore Holsether said.
But he told Reuters that Yara has no immediate plans to restart the curtailed production even though European spot gas prices have fallen steadily in recent weeks.
"We can't decide to ramp up production based on just a day-ahead (gas) price, we have to look at the expectations ... and the expectations for the forward prices are still high both in November and December," he said.
Buying ammonia, a key input factor, on the global spot market and importing it to Europe was far cheaper than to produce it locally, said Arctic Securities analyst Axel Jacobsen.
"What we have seen with Yara in recent years is that they can get a superprofit from buying ammonia and upgrade it - high gas prices have been advantageous for Yara because they have such good flexibility," he said.
July-September earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding one-off items, rose to $1.0 billion from $765 million a year ago, while analysts in a company-provided poll had expected EBITDA of $768 million.