GrowHow nurtures strong profits
FERTILISER giant GrowHow UK, headquartered in Chester, has posted an impressive set of figures for its first full accounts, with profits standing at £135.3m for 2008.
The company was formed in 2007 with the merger of the UK activities of Oslo-headquartered Yara International, formerly Kemira GrowHow, and US-based Terra Industries, with each parent holding a 50% stake.
The Ince headquarters and ammonia manufacturing plant employs around 400 of the company’s 630 staff, with another production facility in Billingham.
GrowHow’s first full set of accounts, filed at Companies House, show pre-tax profits for the year to the end of December 2008 stood at £135.3m, compared with the £7.4m loss it made in the 172 day period to December 31, 2007.
Turnover was £600m, with £7.4m coming from its discontinued Irish business. This was closed in October, at a cost of £2.8m.
The directors’ report said that an upturn in fertiliser demand and increased prices continued in 2008, on the back of what it called a continuing worldwide fertiliser shortage.
“The high demand and high gas prices led to further rises in fertiliser prices during the year” it said.
But GrowHow was forced to suspended production at both plants from December 2008 to March 2009.
“For a period of time at the end of 2008/early 2009 high gas prices failed to follow the decrease in ammonia prices and made it cheaper to purchase ammonia rather than manufacture it on the plant,” it said in the report.
It added that full ammonia production was restored when favourable market conditions returned in March.
The report also said that at the beginning of April 2009, former commercial operations manager Mike Buchan took over as commercial director for GrowHow as a replacement for David Stacey who will retire at the end of June.
