Investor Relations Officer at the Egyptian Chemical Industries Company (Kima), Maher Soliman, said that the opening of the ammonia and urea production project will be in October. He noted that the factory performance tests and the procedures of signing the initial acceptance certificate are being finalised, in order to have the project begin production next month.
Soliman added that the company will begin to reap the fruits of the project’s labour starting in the the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2019, through increasing the production capacity and subsequently increasing sales. The project aims to establish a production unit of ammonia with a capacity of 1,200 tonnes per day and a urea fertiliser unit with a capacity of 1,575 tonnes per day. It will also allocate 900 tonnes from the daily production of ammonia for the production of urea fertiliser, and 300 tonnes per day to produce low and high-density ammonium nitrate and ammonia nitrate fertiliser.
The investment cost of the project is estimated at EGP 11.6bn. This investment aims to rehabilitate Kima’s natural gas plants and increase production. The company secured funding through increasing the paid up capital and the authorised capital via a shareholder’s subscription along with a bank fund.
Kima reported a 67.68% decline in its net profit for the fiscal year (FY) 2018/19 to EGP 32.33m, compared to EGP 100.05m in the corresponding FY.
The company’s revenues declined during the last FY to reach EGP 341.08m, compared to EGP 571.04m during the comparative FY, driven by low exports due to a lack of security permits for exports to some countries. This is in addition to halting production of ammonia after energy costs increased and the reliance on ammonia purchased from sister companies, which decreased production, increased costs, and shrank sales.
