In the first quarter of 2022, Grupa Azoty faced high and volatile prices of feedstocks, mainly natural gas, phosphate rock, potassium chloride, benzene, phenol, and propylene. Despite the challenging market landscape and feedstock pressure, Grupa Azoty delivered solid financial results by maintaining fertilizer production at levels reflecting maximum available capacity throughout the first quarter of 2022, which also enabled it to fully meet domestic demand. As in the fourth quarter of 2021, the first-quarter 2022 performance was supported by the consistent business diversification efforts, which allowed Grupa Azoty to post strong results in the non-fertilizer segments (Chemicals and Plastics).

Further to the news of a sudden halt in Russian gas supplies to Poland, Grupa Azoty announces that the Group companies receive natural gas under a contract with Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo S.A. Poland has technical capabilities to source gas from various directions, e.g. through system interconnectors on its western and southern borders and via the LNG terminal in Świnoujście. The mix is supplemented by domestically produced gas and volumes withdrawn from gas storage facilities, where Poland has accumulated substantial stocks.

For the time being, supplies of natural gas to companies of the Grupa Azoty Group are continuing without any disruption and production is sustained at planned levels. However, the companies have contingency plans and operational scenarios in place in case that gas supplies are disrupted or curtailed.

In 2021, the Grupa Azoty Group posted consolidated revenue of PLN 15.90bn (up PLN 5.38bn year on year), EBITDA of PLN 1.95bn (up PLN 624m year on year), and EBITDA margin of 12.2% (down 0.4pp year on year). Net profit in 2021 reached PLN 634m, having increased by PLN 279m year on year. The largest contribution to consolidated EBITDA earned by the Grupa Azoty Group in the fourth quarter of 2021 was made by the Chemicals segment, which posted its best performance on record.

On Wednesday March 23rd 2022, a doctoral thesis was defended at the Faculty of Chemistry of the Silesian University of Technology as part of the first edition of the implementation-based doctorates programme. The EngD degree was awarded to Urszula Dorosz, an employee of Grupa Azoty ZAK, following defence of her dissertation entitled ‘Chemoenzymatic methods for obtaining lactic acid esters’.

Grupa Azoty is set to launch a refreshed version of its Idea4Azoty programme, which aims to facilitate collaboration between Grupa Azoty and providers of innovative solutions for industrial applications. The project is targeted at universities, research institutions and start-ups.

Grupa Azoty Group companies and employees are engaged in the efforts aimed at helping Ukrainian refugees fleeing war.