ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - Fertilizer manufacturer Petrokemija generated a net profit of HRK 19 million in the first nine months of 2021, down from HRK 315 million in the same period of 2020, the company's financial statement shows.

Petrokemija's result for the first nine months of this year was affected by increased prices of natural gas, higher carbon emission allowance prices, and lower demand. The negative effects were partly offset by higher selling prices of mineral fertilizers and the efficiency measures implemented, CEO Davor Žmegač said in a comment.

Operating revenue totaled HRK 1.5 billion, up by 7.0% over the same period of 2020. Sales revenue rose by 6.0% to HRK 1.49 billion, fuelled by the increase in prices of mineral fertilizers, which in turn was due to higher prices of natural gas on the European markets.

The company said that prices of natural gas on the European markets had gone up by 249 percent on average, while carbon emission allowance prices had increased by 129 percent following a new EU directive aimed at further reducing CO2 emissions.

Operating expenditure rose by 38% to HRK 1.49 billion. EBITDA without one-off items was HRK 141 million, down by 65 percent, and net profit fell by 94 percent to HRK 19 million. Capital investment rose by 217 percent to HRK 91 million.

(€1 = HRK 7.521247)

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ZAGREB, 11 Oct 2021 - Petrokemija, a leading producer of artificial fertilizers in Croatia, reported on Monday morning that it had fixed a glitch that had appeared in two of it units -- Urea and Amonijak-- however, the production in these Kutina-based plants would still not restart.

The relaunch of the production cannot be expected for the time being due to the optimization of business operations and record-high prices of natural gas and CO2 in Europe," Petrokemija says in a press release issued on the Zagreb Stock Exchange on Monday morning.

"The technical failure at Urea and Ammonia production plants has been successfully repaired," reads the press release.

"The plants will remain shut down until further notice in order to optimize and align business
operations to the conditions on the gas market and the record-high prices of natural gas and
CO2 in Europe. Pursuant to the regulations, the Company will report on the trends and further
adjustments to its business operations, as well as the duration of production downtime.

"Sufficient mineral fertilizer quantities have been secured to maintain the supply of domestic
and regional markets during downtime," the company says.

On 30 June, Petrokemija posted a net profit of HRK 48 million in the first half of 2021, which was 80% less than in the same period of 2020, according to the company's financial statement.

Total operating revenue fell by 3.0% to HRK 936 million, with sales revenue declining by 5.0% to HRK 918 million. Operating expenditure increased by 23% to HRK 888 million.

Davor Žmegač, President of the Management Board, was then quoted as saying that the results were affected by increased prices of natural gas, higher CO2 emission charges, and lower sales, mostly as a result of the planned overhaul early in the year.

Negative effects were partly offset by higher selling prices of mineral fertilizers and the business efficiency measures implemented, Žmegač said then.

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