OREANDA-NEWS. PhosAgro (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), a leading global vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producer, announces its production results for the nine months ended 30 September 2014.

Total fertilizer production and sales increased year-on-year in 9M 2014 by 5.6% and 4.3%, respectively. Production of phosphate-based fertilizers and feed phosphates for 9M 2014 increased by 3.8%, while production of nitrogen-based fertilizers increased by 12.2% year-on-year.

Commenting on the 9M 2014 operational results, PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: "We continue to operate at near-100% capacity utilisation. We saw solid demand within the first 3 quarters of 2014, which has enabled us to increase substantially our sales of both phosphate- and nitrogen-based fertilizers. We continue to adapt our product mix in response to demand and the pricing environment, which has significantly improved from last year, increasing to over USD 500 during the summer before softening slightly towards the end September on the back of low crop prices. Nonetheless, the price of a tonne of DAP (FOB Tampa) remains 30% higher than it was in mid-October last year at USD 470 per tonne now vs. USD 360 per tonne a year ago.

"Looking forward to the remainder of 2014, we are going into a quiet period as the main agricultural markets are moving out of season. However, the low export window in China closed last week. Ammonia has peaked at USD 640 per tonne in the US, USD 630 in North Africa and above USD 680 in Europe; sulphur remains around USD 150 per tonne in most regions. As a result, we see big producers cutting output. All these developments would, in our view, be strong offsetting factors against any significant price decreases in the low season environment. With our low cost position, I feel comfortable with respect to our financial performance and operations through the rest of this year."