Urea plant faces forced closure over gas supply
One of New Zealand’s largest fertiliser plants could be forced to shut down for four months as uncertainty looms over gas supply.
Fertiliser co-operative Ballance’s revenue and gross profit tumbled last year as the co-op prioritised passing on price and cost savings to customers through the year.
The co-op’s revenue slipped from $1.2 billion last year to $929m for year ended May 31, 2024. Profit before tax also slumped, from $46.5m last year to $17.2m. The drop in sales reflected lower commodity prices and decreased sales volumes to 1.16m tonnes from continuing operations, Ballance says.
However, Ballance finished the financial year with a closing inventory of 281kiloton (281million kg), 37% lower than the previous year.
The lower working capital and sale of SealesWinslow business to Farmlands enabled $69m reduction in debt. The co-op also spent $69m in capital expenditure on co-op assets.
The Ballance board decided not to pay any rebate for the second consecutive year.
Ballance chair Duncan Coull says that facing another year of headwinds for the co-operative and its shareholders, Ballance prioritised debt reduction and passing on price and cost savings to customers through the year.
“We moved a number of times to provide affordable nutrients to our shareholders, absorbing commodity price effects internally in order to do so,” explains Coull.
In his first year as Ballance chief executive, Kelvin Wickham says key priorities were improving operational efficiency while maintaining a strong focus on health and safety.
“We continued to invest in our assets with $69 million of capital expenditure this year towards plant maintenance and upgrades to improve efficiency. Alongside continued investment in health and safety, this meant there wasn’t a lot left over,” says Wickham.
“We also had a focus on working capital and reduced inventory by 165kt, down 37% from the prior year”.
Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell says the sale of the co-op’s consumer and associated businesses to Lactalis represents a great outcome for the co-op.
The world’s largest milk company Lactalis has won the bid for Fonterra’s global consumer and associated businesses.
Fonterra has increased its 2024/25 forecast Farmgate Milk Price from $10/kgMS to $10.15/kgMS.
It took a stint at university to remind Otago dairy farmer Megan Morrison that being stuck in a classroom was not for her.
Farmer lobby group Federated Farmers has announced it is supporting a new Member’s Bill which it says could bring clarity to New Zealand farmers and save millions in legal costs.
DairyNZ has announced the date for its upcoming Milksolids Levy vote.
OPINION: Your old mate reckons townie Brooke van Velden, the Minister of Workplace (or is it Woke Place) Relations is…
OPINION: There's an infamous term coined by a US general during the Vietnam war, specifically in reference to the battle…