FERTILISER and explosives business Incitec Pivot has posted a monster profit for the 2021 financial year on the back of rising fertiliser prices and good demand in its explosives business.
In its results presentation this week IPL announced a net profit after tax and individual material items of $149.1 million, up 31 per cent on the previous corresponding period.
Shares rose a hefty 17pc following the results announcement, to hit $3.67, their highest levels in a year.
Incitec chief executive Jeanne Johns forecast the good times to continue to roll, saying shareholders had a lot more to look forward to in both major business units.
Fertiliser revenue was up 26pc, and with the high prices on offer currently likely to extend until Australia's peak period of demand in the autumn IPL is hopeful of good results on that front.
Further ahead, Ms Johns said the company was investigating the market for green fertilisers, in particular ammonia, which a key part of products such as phosphorus fertilisers like MAP and DAP, along being widely used in IPL's explosives arm.
She said the demand for low carbon products would continue to grow, however she said they would trade at a premium to conventional product for some time until production technology improved and that most customers would be unwilling to pay a significant premium.
"The challenge is to bring down the cost through technology and provide affordability to customers," she said.
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