Notore Chemical Industries Plc has declared a decline by 16.03 per cent in revenue after recording N12.68 billion in 2019, compared to N15.17 billion in the corresponding period in 2018, its unaudited six months financial results showed.
The company said it witnessed a loss of N1.84 billion as against N2.55 billion which is a 27.7 per cent reduction in loss.
The decline was blamed on plant downtime during the period under review as a result of the turn-around maintenance (TAM) programme activities.
The impact on revenue may continue as the TAM programme is expected to be completed by the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 when the plant is expected to operate at its nameplate capacity.
Cost of sales also dropped to N9.636 billion in 2019 from N11.404 billion in 2018. Due to the net finance cost that grew from N5.144 billion in 2018 to N6.57 billion in 2019, Notore posted a loss of N1.942 billion in H1 of 2019.
However, the loss is a positive result for Notore as the company recorded a loss of N4.517 billion in the corresponding period of 2018.
The company said it expects growth in Nigerian fertilizer demand because of the Federal Government’s agenda to use agriculture as one of the keys to unlock the diversification of the Nigerian economy.
Notore added that the market is robust and yet to reach its full potential, with the demand for urea and compound fertilizers, such as NPK, from the West African markets and Sahel African states growing.
Notore is certain it will improve on the 2018 financial year urea production figures in 2019, stating that the market demand for NPK and current Federal Government policies are favourable to its operation, the Notore H1 2019 FY Performance Summary disclosed.
