Duslo with 39% drop in profit

Fertilizer maker Duslo Šaľa, owned by Agrofert of Andrej Babiš, posted a 39% drop in pre-tax profit to €14.2m in 2017 (back in 2015, the gross profit stood at €51.1m). The management says the drop is due to low fertilizer prices that even higher sales could not compensate for. Another negative influence is the growing price of natural gas, one of the key inputs. Its sales were up 12% to €403.2m. It invested €102.3m, mainly into completion of the new €300m ammonia unit that it has recently put into trial operation.

This year, Duslo plans on a €9.7m gross profit on €416.2m sales. The further drop in profit will mainly be the result of higher technology depreciation. Investments will drop to €56.3m.

(sme.sk)