Notore reports N2.6bn profit before tax in half-year 2022

Notore Chemical Industries Plc has recorded group revenue of N26.28 billion for the six-month period ended June 30, 2022, a 178.7 percent growth compared to N9.43 billion for the corresponding period in 2021 half-year.

The company also reported N2.6billion net profit before tax in the same half-year (H1) period, representing 116.4percent improvement on year-on-year analysis.

In a statement, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Notore Chemical Industries Plc, Ohis Ohiwerei attributed the modest growth in revenue to improvements in plant reliability and increased production output, a positive outcome of the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) programme implemented in most part of year 2021.

According to him, “Notwithstanding, operating income for the period was N10.85 billion, a significant increase of 328.7percent as compared to a loss (N3.30 billion) in 2021H1. This was as a result of increased profitable operations during the period. The Group reported a net profit before tax of N2.60 billion during the period as compared to a loss of (N15.84 billion) for 2021H1 (an improvement of 116.4percent YoY), a significant milestone towards its drive to a return to profitable business operations.”

Ohiwerei stated that Notore showed remarkable progress and achieved important milestones during the period as it strives towards return to profitability and repositioning for a great future, adding “The period witnessed an increase in Plant reliability and relatively stable operations, resulting in significant increases in production output and sales.

“The production of Notore NPK fertilizers has continued to ramp up, with significant increases in NPK production output and sales anticipated in the second half of the on-going year. Additionally, the sale of Notore seeds to Nigerian farmers to enhance the yields of farm produce continued in furtherance of our corporate vision to be a significant contributor to the development of Africa.”

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“Notore intends to continue to expand into other products to further diversify the company’s revenue streams and boost profitability. As part of measures to return the Group and the Company to profitability and improve working capital, Notore had during the period, successfully restructured a substantial part of its short-term loans into fixed long-term loans, thus boosting its debt service management,” he noted.

On the company’s outlook given the disruptions in the international market, he said whilst the Russian-Ukraine war has had some disruptive impact on the dynamics of global fertilizer markets during the period, the domestic fertilizer market demand is quite robust and is expected to continue to grow considering the Federal Government’s strong and decisive policy focus on agriculture as one of the keys to unlock the diversification of the Nigerian economy.

According to him, “While leveraging the company’s robust supply chain and distribution network, Notore is well positioned to continue to serve our customers in all our markets. With the achieved improvement in Plant reliability and increased production output and sales, the Company intends to sustain its current trend of profitable operations all through the remaining period of the ongoing financial year.”