Moscow – The Board of Directors of PJSC PhosAgro (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), one of the world’s leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers, has declared that the Company’s operating and financial results for 2024 were a success.
Reporting on PhosAgro’s key results for 2024 and its outlook for 2025, PhosAgro CEO Mikhail Rybnikov said: “We were able to sustain steady, robust growth despite external challenges. We made significant progress in the production and sales of our products as well as the execution of our investment programme. We set a new all-time record in 2024, with our facilities producing 11.8 million tonnes of agrochemical products, an increase of 4.3% from 2023. This achievement was made possible thanks to the professional efforts of our entire workforce and ongoing large-scale investments in the Company’s core assets. Over the past three years, we have invested more than RUB 200 billion in development, achieving the key targets outlined in our Development Strategy to 2025 last year, ahead of schedule.
“In 2024, a record RUB 75 billion was invested in the Company’s growth. In Cherepovets and Volkhov, the processing of phosphate rock increased by a total of nearly 400 thousand tonnes. Our plant in Balakovo began producing diammonium phosphate and increased its production of feed monocalcium phosphate by 100 thousand tonnes per year. The facility’s SK-20 sulphuric acid plant reached design capacity, ramping up the production of sulphuric acid by 350 thousand tonnes per year. As a result, production of sulphuric acid at the site rose 13% to nearly 3 million tonnes per year. In 2024, we began operations at the +10-metre mining level at our Kirovsky mine, and we are beginning underground mining in the Gakman section of the mine’s Yukspor deposit.
“Implementation of a project to increase the capacity of the aluminium fluoride shop at our Cherepovets complex from its current 75 thousand tonnes to 79 thousand tonnes per year is ongoing. Supplies of aluminium fluoride, which is used as an electrolyte component in aluminium production, will increase in 2025. The third stage in the development of our production plant in Balakovo is in progress, focusing on the creation of a flexible system for producing MAP, DAP, NPS and NPK fertilizers and increasing gross production volumes. Upon completion of the project, production at our Balakovo plant will increase by nearly 1 million tonnes, bringing total output of fertilizers that are popular among Russian farmers to 3.5 million tonnes. The construction of our SK-20/1 sulphuric acid plant is well under way. Set for completion in the second half of 2025, the plant will increase sulphuric acid production by 750 thousand tonnes per year. In 2025, we also plan to complete the construction of a phosphogypsum conversion unit in Balakovo and to expand our in-house power generation capacity by 50%, or 187 million kWh per year.
“In Kirovsk, we are making progress on the construction of a new mine for the development of the Rasvumchorr Plateau deposit. The total amount of capital investments in this project will be around RUB 38 billion. We plan to allocate more than RUB 33 billion up to 2035 to develop the Vostochny mine. These projects will be part of our future Development Strategy to 2030, which will be submitted to the Board of Directors for review in the second quarter of 2025.”
Viktor Cherepov, Chairman of PJSC PhosAgro’s Board of Directors, said: “The consistent implementation of our investment programme and steady improvement in production performance enable us to provide competitive wages for our employees while fulfilling all our social obligations. From 2022 through 2024, the average salary of the Company’s employees increased by two thirds to RUB 184 thousand, while our tax payments to budgets at all levels increased by 15% last year to a record of over RUB 79 billion. Support for social and charitable projects continues to increase both in the regions where we operate and at the national level. This support exceeded a record RUB 14 billion last year, an increase of 20% from 2023. Notably, funding increased for social programmes that have been the recipients of Responsible Business Leaders national awards, established by Russian President Vladimir Putin: the Education, Health and Spirituality for Russian Children project (DROZD), which supports children’s sports; Our Beautiful Cities, which supports the development and beautification of the regions where the Company operates; and School–College/University–Enterprise, the Company’s corporate education pathway. Occupational safety and the health of our employees remain among our top priorities.”
The Board of Directors took note of the Company’s 2024 financial results and its consolidated IFRS financial statements for 2024.
The Board also recommended that the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM), scheduled for 9 April 2025, approve the distribution of a portion of the Company’s net profit for the previous year for the payment of dividends at a rate of RUB 171 per ordinary share. The ballots for the AGM will provide shareholders with several voting options up to the maximum possible dividend amount indicated above (as recommended by the Board of Directors). The record date for shareholders to take part in the upcoming AGM has been set as 16 March 2025. The Board recommended that the AGM set 20 April 2025 as the record date for dividend eligibility.
During the meeting, the Board of Directors took note of information on occupational health and industrial safety in PJSC PhosAgro Group companies. The Board reviewed key aspects of the operations of PJSC PhosAgro Group companies in terms of mineral fertilizer sales in 2024, including an analysis of the market environment and competitive dynamics.
The Board of Directors approved a report for 2024 on compliance with the principles and recommendations of the Corporate Governance Code adopted by the Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia, confirming that, at present, PJSC PhosAgro’s corporate governance system and practice meet the Company’s current needs in full and ensure that shareholders can exercise their rights. In addition, the Internal Audit Department’s report on its work in 2024 was also approved.
The meeting also heard a report on the performance of the Board of Directors and its committees in 2024, as well as an assessment of the performance of the Company’s risk management and internal control system in 2024.