Romania's Norofert net profit plummets y/y in Q1

Consolidated operating income dropped by an annual 11% in the first trimester of the current year, reaching 12.9 million lei, due to market volatility and monthly price fluctuation underpinned by uncertainty related to the inflow of grain from Ukraine, the company said in a quarterly financial report filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Norofert's operating result plunged by 73.2% year-on-yea to 872,938 lei in the first quarter of 2024.

Total assets amounted to 745 million lei at end-March, down by 16% year-on-year, while total liabilities fell by 14.6% to 53.6 million lei.

Looking forward, the company projects a net profit of 2.5 million lei at the end of 2024. The company intends to achieve this result by promoting the new products in its portfolio and increasing its customer base.

Earlier this year, Norofert announced it was investing 250,000 euro in a production line for soil health and foliar nutrition products in the U.S. state of South Dakota. In April, the company said it closed its first distribution agreement in the U.S.. Earlier this month, Norofert announced that it had completed the development of its fertiliser production line located in the US.

Established in 2000, Norofert is the main producer of organic fertilisers in Romania. It has four business lines: production of inputs for organic and conventional agriculture, laboratory research on the multiplication of microorganisms with application in agriculture, organic farming, and grain trading.

Norofert shares traded 4.6% lower at 3.94 lei as at 1020 CET on May 30 on the Bucharest bourse.

(1 euro=4.9762 lei)