November 26 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian fertilisers producer Neochim [BUL:3NB] said on Thursday that it turned to a consolidated net profit of 12.7 million levs ($7.7 million/6.5 million euro) in the first nine months of the year from a net loss of 9.1 million levs in the same period of 2019.
The company's expenses fell to 156 million levs in the January-September period of 2020 from 211.3 million levs the year before, as expenses for materials dropped by 50.5 million levs, figures from Neochim's interim financial statement showed.
Due to an agreement signed in March between Bulgaria and its main natural gas supplier - Gazprom, which saw a 40.3% retroactive decrease in the agreed price, Neochim was reimbursed for the overpaid amount in the last few months of 2019 and first quarter of 2020. Neochim received a 9.5 million levs direct payment from state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz, while a further 7.9 million levs of outstanding obligations to Bulgargaz were stuck off as part of the compensation.
The company's revenue declined to 168.9 million levs in the review period from 202.3 million levs in the like period of last year, due to a drop in exports.
Neochim booked 81.7 million levs of sales on foreign markets in the first nine months of the year, down from 132.7 million levs a year earlier. Ammonium nitrate exports fell to 65.4 million levs from 102.1 million levs, while ammonia exports more than halved to 10.6 million levs from 26.2 million levs.
Domestic sales increased to 77.8 million levs from 64.7 million levs in the prior-year period.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)