Rabat – Morocco’s state-owned phosphate giant OCP Group recorded an annual turnover of more than MAD 114.57 billion ($11 billion) in 2022, marking a 36% year-on-year increase.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, OCP’s turnover reached MAD 25 billion ($2.4 billion), down from MAD 26 billion ($2.5 billion) a year earlier.
In a statement released on February 28, the company said that the drop in its quarterly profits was caused by the “unfavorable market conditions” that were marked by declining prices and regressing demand.
The statement noted that OCP “will continue its investment efforts,” with expenditures reaching MAD 4.85 billion ($466 million) in the fourth quarter of 2022 against MAD 6 billion ($577 million) a year earlier.
Currently ranked among the world’s leading fertilizers manufacturers, OCP saw an exponential rise in annual turnovers in 2021 and 2022 on the backdrop of the multiple shocks that affected the international market and caused fertilizer shortages.
In March 2022, as the world was bracing for the prospects of food insecurity on the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, OCP announced plans to increase input by 10% to meet the rising worldwide demand for fertilizers.
The announcement coincided with the start of West-imposed sanctions on Russia that disrupted the supplies of ammonia, a key ingredient for the manufacturing of fertilizers.
To overcome the shortage of ammonia, OCP locked a deal with American Koch Industries in March 2022, whereby the two parties collaborate on ammonia supply to ensure Moroccan-based fertilizers production.
With the new deal, OCP announced that they would increase production output to 11.9 million tonnes in 2022, up from 10.8 million tonnes the year before.
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